Welcome Home
by XeroKitty
Summary: Short fics and drabbles about the various views of Naruto and Sasuke's relationship. There are both happy and sad stories in here, as well as a final, epic chapter fic in the end. Enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

_**Welcome Home**_

**Notes: **Cute little fluffy, drabble-like thing. Or ficlet. I don't know, it's short.

**Disclaimer: **Same as always--Naruto's not mine. (I want Sasuke!)

**Warning: **It's short, it's cute, it has shonen-ai, and it really makes no sense. I shouldn't write things at four thirty in the morning...

**Dedication: **This goes out to Hitokiri-Kitsune, my crazy-ass partner in crime whom I haven't seen in forever. I miss you, girl, but I haven't forgotten you! Here's some squishy fluffness to tide you over 'til I get back online. And you need to update your stuff! XD

* * *

The huge wooden gates were thrown open wide, and the smooth stone arch proudly displayed the Valley of the Hidden Leaf's symbol on its face, bathed in afternoon sunlight. Twenty-three year old Uchiha Sasuke looked up from the dirt path and stopped, slipping his gloved hands into his pockets as he looked up at the gate. After a few long moments of silent contemplation, Sasuke allowed himself to smile, lowering his head and starting forward once more: _It's good to be back home._ This past mission was ridiculous, as far as he was concerned, but the Hokage had assigned it specifically to him and he had to grudgingly accept it. Damn the Rokudaime, damn him--

"_SA-SU-KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!_"

Uh-oh. Sasuke just stood there and let it happen. After all, who was he to stop it?

_**BAM!**_

Hello ground. Sasuke was pinned beneath a flurry of white and red and gold. He lay on his stomach patiently as the Rokudaime Hokage recovered fromt he flying tackle and straddled his boyfriend, waving his arms frantically and screaming "SASUKE!" again before hugging the aforementioned man tightly.

"That was my BACK,_ dobe_," he rose, dusting his jounin uniform off.

"You're home!" Uzumaki Naruto bounced happily, his dirty robes ignored as he latched onto Sasuke's arm.

"I _told_ you I'd be home today..." he turned for the gate again. Naruto turned with him and they both began walking into the city of Konoha.

"I know!" the blond grinned up at him. "But I just couldn't sit still!"

"Can you ever sit still?" the dark-haired Uchiha lifted one eyebrow in secrative amusement.

Naruto pouted: "I missed you."

"I can tell."

"Didn't you miss me, Sasuke?"

They stopped at the head of the main road that led down into the busy town square. Sasuke looked at his now-sulking boyfriend and breifly marveled at how quickly the blonde's mood could change in a single instant. Then he smiled gently and reached over, pushing the woven hat with the hokage insignia back from the other's eyes and brushing his fingers along the round, scarred cheeks.

"Of course I did, _dobe_," he smiled at the other man. Naruto blinked and was suddenly grinning again. He leaned over and re-affirmed his grip on Sasuke's arm, laying his head against the other's shoulder, ignoring the hat that toppled off his mop of blond hair and fell to rest against his back.

"Good," he chirped as he snuggled against his boyfriend.

They walked back toward the building where the raven-haired jounin would turn in his mission report and the hokage would go back to the paperwork that littered his desk. And then leave with said jounin five minutes later, this time, for home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes: **I decided to keep on going with the short, cute, fluffyness. Plus, I've actually caught up in the manga, so now I'm totally in love with all new characters. XD But, Yay SasuNaru!

* * *

In a flurry of blinding orange and sunshine yellow, eightteen year old Uzumaki Naruto rushed out of the door of his boyfriend's apartment with a hurried "I'm going!"

"Nn," Uchiha Sasuke murmured into his coffee mug as the door slammed shut forcefully behind him. Nara Shikamaru glanced lazily at the front door, then over to his fellow chunin from over the rim of his own steaming mug of morning beverage.

"That's odd," he said matter-of-factly. "Then again, I can't seem to picture you as the superstitious type."

"What the hell are you babbling about?" Sasuke lifted an eyebrow at the lanky man across the table.

"You didn't say 'come home soon' to him," Shikamaru motioned to the door.

"So what?" Sasuke took another drink of his black coffee.

"It's considered bad luck not to do so."

"And?"

"Gah, forget it. It's too troublesome to bother explaining…" Shikamaru downed the last of his coffee and rose, tucking his hands into the pockets of his khakis. "I'll see you at the academy," he nodded. "Thanks for the coffee."

"Nn," Sasuke grunted and finished his own coffee as the door slammed shut again. Slowly, he placed his mug down and stared blankly at it, his fingers lacing together of their own accord. _The truth is… I used to believe in that superstition.

* * *

_

"_I'm going."_

"_Ah! Itachi! Come home soon!"

* * *

_

_Maybe I don't say it anymore because I tie it to _him_, and my past. _Sasuke pushed himself up out of his chair, as if almost trying to physically push away the memories that were stirring at the back of his mind. _Or maybe… I just haven't had anyone to say it to for so long…_

The door opened abruptly and Naruto came bounding back in. He caught Sasuke's eye and flashed his boyfriend a toothy grin.

"I'm back!"

Sasuke slowly reached over and took Naruto's hand, finally giving in to the small smile that had been tugging at the corner of his mouth: "Welcome home."


	3. Chapter 3

Somewhere between Konoha and Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto lay on his side, waiting for sleep to come. He heard Sakura shift slightly beside him and he glanced over his shoulder to check on her. Her usually pretty face was marred by a deep frown that showed an immense sadness within her. Through the veil of sleep, she uttered something that made his blood turn to ice.

"No… Sasuke, don't… Don't go…"

He debated waking his comrade up; he knew what nightmares were like. His hand fell on her shoulder and almost instantly the frown melted and the creases on her brow lessened. She rolled onto her back, Naruto pulling his hand away quickly so it wouldn't land in an inappropriate place. He watched her for a few moments--he wasn't sure if she had been comforted by the fact it was he who had touched her, or her dream had reflected the touch coming from Sasuke, but it had worked either way and he wasn't going to stress it too much.

Naruto lay back on his side, his eyes avoiding the vast blue expanse above them. Night reminded him too much of Sasuke: the dark, mysterious appearance, the flatness and depth that warred with one's perspective (both physically and mentally), the pale whiteness of the moon that reflected the tone of his skin, and the coldness. Another shiver raced through him. _Soon, _he closed his eyes and groped for sleep that would not come, _We'll see him soon. We're almost there; we've almost got him back…_ But the last coherent thought Naruto had before he slipped into nothingness was that they were nowhere near the end; they could _get_ to where Sasuke was, but they couldn't do anything if they couldn't _reach_ him. Naruto fell into an unsettled sleep beside his one remaining teammate.

* * *

Somewhere between Konoha and Itach, Uchiha Sasuke lay on his back, waiting for sleep to come. He heard nothing but the wind howling breathlessly through the old building, and found himself thinking (and not for the first time) not about his brother, but about his teammates. About Naruto.

"_Dobe_," he let the insult slip from his lips, unaware he had even spoken out loud. He was just so _used_ to calling him that. It was his own way to keep his superiority around the blond, now that his comrade was learning and mastering techniques faster than--

_Ex-comrade_, he reminded himself. Sasuke knew he had become one of the missing nin, just like his brother before him. (A sick grin came to his face; after all this time, he was still in the shadow of his elder brother.) He was never allowed to go back home (he snorted), to Konoha, to…

He abruptly rolled over onto his side. "Stop that," he told himself out loud. "You made your decision a long time ago." It was three years ago, to be exact. Instead of killing Naruto (_"you have to have the will to kill your best friend before you can hope to stand a chance against me"_) he had tried to make his own path to Itachi by following Orochimaru's road.

What a mistake that had been.

But he hadn't killed his best friend.

Sasuke tried to recall if he had ever dreamt when he was younger, before his brother had caused the nightmares that had haunted him for a long while. He did know that when he had been placed in Team Seven, however, all dreaming had ceased: there were no happy recollections of the times his family was alive, and there were no gut-wrenching memories of dark spatter on the walls and floor and a gleaming blade slicked dark with his family's blood. There was blissful nothingness. And now, here, in the "care" of Orochimaru and company, the nightmares had returned full force, but the dreams of happier times never once granted his mind reprieve.

Sasuke closed his eyes and groped for a sleep that would not come. _Soon,_ he thought as he drifted into a restless, almost fearful sleep, _everything will come to a close. Soon.

* * *

_

The waterfall roared. Naruto opened his eyes and stared at the middle afternoon sky, the hue of it making him feel like he was buried alive within it. A noise sounded on his right and he rolled his head over to that side, the familiar blue and khaki-clad figure staring back at him. They both blinked.

"There you are," Naruto spoke first with a smile.

Sasuke snorted half-heartedly: "Like anyone was looking."

Naruto's eyes flinched but he kept his voice even. "I'm looking. Sakura is too. Where are you, Sasuke?"

"…" the black-haired man shrugged, running his fingers through the dark green blades of grass beneath them. "It doesn't matter."

"It does!" Naruto shot up, leaning on his arms to glare at his best friend. "I want to find you, Sasuke, I really do! I--" He closed his mouth abruptly and turned his face to look at the scene around them, actually getting a good look around them. The Valley of the End. _His _end. With Sasuke.

"Why does it matter?" the aforementioned man had sat up and hugged his knees against his chest casually, staring at the back of the blonde's head.

"Did you really mean to kill me?" he totally ignored the question, but not out of spite. At that, Sasuke blinked but didn't say anything. "I was happy, you know," Naruto continued, "that you considered me an equal. Finally," he gave a half-laugh, his gaze almost bitter.

"…I just didn't want to admit that you were finally getting better than me."

Naruto had to look back at that one.

"I was angry," Sasuke admitted with a slight tinge of red to his cheeks. "You were improving so fast and so much, and I couldn't…" _Keep up with you…_

"Now it's me who can't keep up with you again," Naruto said tonelessly and they finally looked one another in the eye.

"What would happen if I came back?" Sasuke asked abruptly. "The entire village would--"

"I don't care what the entire village thinks about you," Naruto protested. "What matters is that _I want you back_."

"I think…that's all that really matters anyway," his friend spoke after another pause. And, for the first time in three years, both of them gave a genuine smile.

"Good," Naruto got up, dusting off his pants, "because right after I welcome you home, I'm gonna beat you black and blue."

Sasuke stood as well, brushing his khaki's once. "That's something that I haven't heard in a while."

"What? A threat? Well, I'm really gonna do it too--"

"Not that, _dobe_," and unknownst to the other, it comforted them both to hear that familiar insult slip so casually from the darker man's lips. "The 'home' thing."

They each felt themselves coming out of…whatever this was. They were leaving, waking up in their separate worlds once more. Naruto gave Sasuke another heartfelt smile, waving slightly.

"I'll welcome you home, Sasuke. I promise."

"I'll remember that," he grinned back, just as sincerely. And then they walked away.

* * *

"You look happy," Sakura inspected Naruto's face closely. He blinked, then smiled at her offhandedly.

"Just had a really good dream, I guess."

* * *

"You look happy," Kabuto glanced over at Sasuke. The other shrugged and made his way to Orochimaru's chambers.

"Just had a really good dream, I guess."


	4. Chapter 4

What does Sasuke dream about when he sleeps?

I haven't been able to ask him outright, and even if I get up the courage, I know he'll never answer me. It's Sasuke. But now, as I'm watching him curl up on his side, curl _into _my side, I just have to wonder: Is he dreaming about me? Is he having a nightmare about his brother, or worse, Orochimaru? I shudder just thinking about it. Damn snake-bastard.

Beside me, a small moan escapes his lips and he shifts again, his eyebrows drawing together. I feel myself frowning. No matter what dream he _is_ having, I can't do anything about it; I'm out here, in the world of the wakeful (or the land of insomnia, whichever you'd prefer). Stupid Sasuke, why don't you ever tell me what you're dreaming about? How am I supposed to help if I'm way out here, outside the realm of your mind, away from you completely? And suddenly, I hate the fact that he _is_ dreaming. I want to shove him awake, even if he glares at me and mutters "_dobe_" through the pillow, I don't care. I suddenly don't like the fact that Sasuke's in a completely different place than me, where I can't do anything--I'm helpless.

Just like before.

Stupid, _stupid_ Sasuke.

* * *

_Is this a dream?_ I look around at the dark, maroon-hazed landscape, nothing in sight but some tufts of dead, scraggly grass poking up through cracked and dried ground and a withered tree out some distance from me. The tree feels like it's beckoning me with its gnarled branches, like fingers, and I can't stop myself from starting toward it. In dreams, you can never stop yourself; in nightmares, it's even worse.

As I get closer to the dead tree, harsh bird calls slam against my eardrums: _Crows?_ And I see the source of the offending noise perched low on one of the decaying branches. Not a crow, a raven. A silken black body that appeared to be formed out of water instead of feathers, and horrible, beady blood-red eyes. I reach for my shurinkan pouch and discover it's not there. Of course. Stupid dreams.

_CAW!_ it glares at me and I glare back. Abruptly, I can feel the dormant Sharingan stirring up in the back of my mind and I forcefully push it back down. Taking out the Sharingan here would be pointless and a waste of chakra (as if that mattered in these stupid things anyway). The raven lifted off with another obscene cry and out of nowhere, millions of ravens spiraled up from the dark, dead ground, filling the air with their rushing wings and nasty calls. Black feathers rained down around me, and I lifted an arm to shield my eyes just in case one of them decided to attack me. _Are they rabid or just cra--_

My eyes were pulled downward of their own accord. Standing at the base of the dead and gnarled tree with a bloody katana in his hands was my brother, Uchiha Itachi.

"It took you a while to get here, Suke."

Hate, anger, embarassment, bewilderment--it all rushes over me in a wave of fear so strong, I literally stumble. The ravens are still ascending, still screaming, still raining feathers, and Itachi is still staring at me.

"How...? How are you--?"

"You didn't _really_ believe you could kill me, little brother, did you? So young, so naive."

"Sh-Shut up!" I don't know what else to say; I know it sounds stupid. He does too. But one thing keeps on tugging at the back of my mind: _He's dead, Sasuke, get a hold on yourself! He's dead, this is a dream!_ But even as I scream this at myself, logic is drowned out by the roar of the flapping wings and the rise and fall of the ravens' shrieking and my Sharingan activates in an instant, sensing the threat, sensing the similar blood close by. I stand numbly as my gaze slips to the sword.

"Ah, you remember," Itachi smirks, and as if to rub salt in a freshly-opened wound, he lifts the slick blade up to his face and licks some of the blood away. A tiny sliver of it drips from the corner of his mouth. My stomach lurches. I'm getting sick and I feel my breaths coming faster, being pulled in and out raggedly. I'm getting angry too, almost blind with rage. I feel my fists clenching, tighter and tighter, until my nails dig into my palms so hard it makes my eyes sting with tears of pain. "You were crying then, too."

I scream. The ravens swoop away from me, leaving me open, giving me air to breathe, but I'm not. I'm seething with rage and my body aches for this fight--to kill him again. _You've ALREADY killed him! Calm down, you idiot!_ I'm running toward him, my hands clasping in the dragon seal. _No, no nononononononoNO!_

"KATON NO JITSU!" _Fwoosh!_ I reared back, away from the flames that suddenly painted the area. They were everywhere. The ravens were gone. And slowly, ever-so slowly, Itachi walks out of the fire towards me, his shoulders shaking up and down with laughter. I feel small, I feel helpless. _There's no one coming, dumbass._ No, there isn't.

"_Sasuke...?_"

I can't look away from Itachi, the sword, drawing closer.

"_Sasuke, please... Come back!_"

Who...was that? Itachi seems oblivious to it.

"_Wake up, Sasuke! Come on, you've gotta wake up!_"

...Naruto?

"_Sasuke!_"

It IS Naruto! I realize I've been looking up, away from my brother. My gaze shoots down quickly, but he's nowhere to be seen. There's no fire and no ravens either. Just a dead landscape.

"_Come back home, Sasuke..._"

"Yeah, I'm coming," I put my hands in my pockets and turn away from the dead tree, walking back the way I came.

* * *

Sasuke's eyes flutter open as I continue to hold my breath. He looks around hazily for a minute, then turns his face up to me. "Na...ruto...?"

I breathe a sigh and force a smile. "Yeah." Whatever he _had_ been dreaming about, it was bad. He started whimpering in the middle of it, but I won't tell him that. He'll be too embarrassed to sleep over again, and I don't want to ruin things.

He looked confused, though: "Did you...?"

"Did I, what?" I blink. I honestly had just woken him up, that was all. A shake wasn't doing it, so I had to pull him into my arms and call into his ear as I rocked him (not telling him that one, either).

After a moment of looking at me, his pale lips twitch into some semblance of a smile, and he actually lays his head against my chest, closing his eyes once more.

"Thanks..."

I really, really want to know, but I won't press it. Maybe one day, he'll get enough courage to tell me about this one. But for now, I just hold him and watch him drift back to sleep, and I feel my own eyelids getting heavy.

"Stupid Sasuke..."

"..._usuratonkachi_."

I fell asleep with a grin, and I know he did too. _Have good dreams this time, Sasuke._


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes: **I want to stop and take a moment to thank all of my readers. Your comments encourage me to continue writing, even though I have _this_ much talent. -holds two fingers an inch apart- So, thank you. And keep enjoying them. :D

* * *

_BAM!_ The door rattled on its hinges and Uzumaki Naruto winced, scowling at his black-haired companion.

"You know, dumbass, that was my _door_."

"Nh," Uchiha Sasuke dragged the blond inside and glanced about the small apartment, taking in the crampedwalls and slightly messy floorspace, then decided it would be best to unload his burden on the long couch in the small day room (if one could even call it that). Sasuke limped over to the beat-up-looking couch and failry _plopped_ down on it, dragging Naruto's battered body with him. With twin grunts of exhausted pain, they let their heads fall back and concentrated on regulating their breathing.

"Did you have...to try to _kill_ me...?" Naruto gulped, fumbling with the bulky zipper of his bright orange jacket and yanking it down to expose his sweat-drenched black undershirt.

"Shut up," Sasuke grunted, his breaths whistling slightly as he inhaled and exhaled deliberately, "it was just training."

"Training my _ass_," Naruto shot back, cracking one sky blue eye open to half-glare at his best friend. "Since when was a katon jitsu to my _face _allowed in a training session?"

"Since you decided to be too slow to avoid it," Sasuke continued to breathe.

"You bastard!"

"_Dobe_."

"Asshole!"

"_Usuratonkachi_."

"ARGH!" Naruto shot to his feet as he flung up his arms, shrugging off his jacket in agitation. He paced, turned to glare fully at Sasuke, paced some more, opened his mouth to make some sort of comment, and then shook his head and went down a short hall that led to his bathroom and his bedroom. "Im going to shower."

"Good. You stink," Sasuke called after him.

"_Fucking_ asshole," he rolled his eyes and slammed the bathroom door closed.

* * *

Sasuke waited until he heard the lock and finally allowed himself to grin. He loved tourmenting Naruto: the blond's reactions were priceless. And, with a faint sense of amusement, he mentally pointed out that his friend never spazzed out half as much if someone else insulted him; he took it in stride, just like everything elsethatcame his way. Sasuke let his eyes open briefly to study the cracks in Naruto's cieling. Cracks from weapons, leaking water, and old age. A frown suddenly creased his calm brow--why did Naruto keep living in this dump? Surely he could move in with Iruka-sensei, maybe even Kakashi. Hell, he'd offer his own place if it meant Naruto wouldn't have to return to these depressing walls every night alone. Closing his eyes again, Sasuke snorted in distaste; Naruto would never move in with him--he hated the Uchiha fartoo much. For Sasuke however, he wished he could say the same. Maybe then, it wouldn't hurt sometimes...

Like now.

Sasuke pushed those thoughts aside and concentrated on Naruto's presence just down the hall. Actually, it was above him and around him, and without even realizing it, he had already let the other boy's house overtake him; Sasuke was overrun by the individual scents that painted the apartment and clung to his companion like a second skin: the tangy scent of his sweat from hard training, the freshness of clean clothes and skin, the airy smell of nature (he had some plants scattered around, all growing quite nicely), and the offbeat hint of ramen spices tying it all together into a smell that could only be described as _Narutoish_. Still musing on these things, Sasuke let himself smile again. It felt good to relax and think about different things for a change...

* * *

He yanked his towel off the rack and told himself to get another one for Sasuke as he wrapped it loosely about his waist. Naruto opened the bathroom door and called down the hall toward the living room.

"Yo, Uchiha! Shower!" There was no response, and normally enough, there never was one. But this silence seemed heavy and a bit odd. Naruto kept one hand on his towel and the other against the wall (although he suddenly wished he had a kunai or _something _to defend himself with, just in case). "Sasuke?" he peeked into the living room and saw his friend just as he had left him on the couch. "Huh," he let out a slightly relieved breath, "why didn't you answer, dumbass? Go take a shower--I'll get you a towel in a minute."

And still no response. Naruto opened his mouth to start yelling, but stopped when the pale boy shifted ever-so slightly and his head dropped over onto one shoulder. His eyes were closed and his expression, for once, was peaceful. Naruto blinked. And blinked again. Was Sasuke really...sleeping? Like, honest-to-god sleeping? Naruto had never seen it before; it was a miracle. Usually, Uchiha Sasuke slept with one eye open: stiff, a weapon in hand (or_extremely_ close by), upright. But this Sasuke was far-gone in the sleep cycle, his eyes moving softly beneath the closed lids, his hands laying at his sides, palms up and open in a slightly pleading-like gesture, and his entire body from head to toe was totally relaxed. Naruto had to marvel at it: Uchiha Sasuke had fallen asleep on his couch. _His_ couch, of all couches! _I thought he hated me..._ Normally, one doesn't just fall asleep in their main rival's day room.

Naruto stepped closer, marveling at the way the last rays of sun colored his friend's profile amazingly as night overtook the small apartment. It was like he had purposely sat there to catch the golden hues of sunset on his closed (can you _believe _that?) eyelids and his untidy locks of raven black hair. Naruto realized he wasn't breathing. He convinced his lungs to inhale as he kept staring at this...this...beautiful thing in his living room, on his _couch_.

"Sasuke..."

* * *

The attack was sudden and really neither of them expected it (not even the attacker). Sasuke tackled Naruto and they rolled, the black-haired boy coming out on top of the tangle, a long kunai already out and angled dangerously to the blond's throat.

"Sasuke, it's me!" Naruto yelped, but he didn't need to. Sasuke realized what had happened the very instant they had landed in this position.

"You scared the _shit_ out of me, dammit!" he twirled the kunai and tucked it smoothly back into the weapon pouch hanging from his belt.

"_I _scared the shit out of _you_?" the boy beneath him squeaked. "I thought you were asleep!"

"I was," came the grunted reply and then Sasuke realized something else almost as disarming: Naruto was pinned beneath him, wearing nothing but a towel. Against his wishes, his body began to heat up, and he felt the redness crawling up from the collar of his shirt. Slowly, realization was also dawning in the blue eyes beneath him, and with an abruptness that was noted by both, Sasuke sprang to his feet.

"You..." Naruto tried to compose himself as he stood up as well, clutching his towel _very_ tightly. "If you were asleep, then how did I...?"

"It's not like you were trying to sneak up on me or anything," Sasuke avoided looking at him, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"But... I thought you never slept..."

"I'm not Gaara, you know."

"I meant," Naruto rolled his eyes, "like that. Total REM cycle sleep; you were out like a light."

Sasuke tried to come up with something other than the real reason, and finally (giving a glance at the orange towel and blushing harder) he just said it: "Because I was...comfortable."

Naruto was struck dumb. Sasuke, comfortable? _Here_? "You were...?"

"Look, forget it," Sasuke coughed and he turned on his heel for the door, keeping his head down. "I'll just go back to my place and shower there."

"No, wait!" Naruto gripped the other boy'swrist and they both froze, Sasuke tense, Naruto shocked. Finally: "It's...okay. I'm actually kind of happy you said that."

Not looking up, struggling with a million questions, Sasuke betrayed nothing in his voice: "You are?"

"Mm-hmm," Naruto let go of him and scratched at his blond head nervously. "I mean, you know, if you can't even relax around your best friend..." that thought trailed off, replaced with another one. "It's good...a good thing, forpeople like us to stick together. Usorphans," he shrugged, looking a little helpless as he chuckled at the situation."It's like coming home and finally having someone there waiting for you, you know?"

He knew.

Sasuke turned back around and lifted his eyes to his comrade's. Naruto's scarred cheeks were redand his eyes were soft.

"I can stay...for dinner too, if you want," he offered with a nervous clearing of his throat.Naruto broke out into a broad smile and took his friend's hand, guiding him back toward the bathroom.

"I'd like that. But not until after you shower; you stink."

Sasuke glared and Naruto laughed.


	6. Chapter 6

"Here's your assignment."

Uchiha Sasuke took the mission statement from the man behind the front desk. He glanced it over briefly before wrinkling his nose in distaste. "Nn."

"What is it?" Nara Shikamaru lifted one eyebrow lazily. "Don't like the client?"

"Not that," Sasuke waved the hand with the paper in it dismissively. "It's just…"

"What?" Shikamaru pressed.

"…it's on my birthday."

There was a pause. The man behind the desk rubbed the back of his neck and coughed nervously before speaking up again.

"That is a bit troublesome, but…you have the best survival ratio on our entire team," the other man said almost apologetically. "If I didn't think this were the best course to take, I would reassign it…"

"It's alright," Sasuke turned to go, "I know how you like to calculate mission success rates. It'll be fine."

"But…"

"SASUKE!" a loud cry sounded from the lobby.

"Well, it _was_ quiet…" Shikamaru grumbled and the dark-haired man had to silently agree before he was unceremoniously tackled. The blond in his green and blue uniform hung on to Sasuke's neck, wrinkling the white Anbu vest as he tugged down with all his weight.

"Sasuke! Have you gotten your assignment yet? What is it? How long is it going to be? Will you be back in time for your--"

Sasuke shoved the piece of paper into Uzumaki Naruto's face, turned, and walked out of the building, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"Sasuke, wait!" Naruto ran out after him, clutching the paper in one fist. Shikamaru waved lazily at their backs before going back to scanning his eyes over the reports in front of him. "Sasuke!" the blond caught up to his companion. "What is it? What's the matter?"

"Nothing," came the curt reply, and Naruto stopped walking, puffing his cheeks in agitation.

"You never tell me what's going on!"

"There's nothing to tell."

"Then you wouldn't be upset!"

"I'm not upset."

"Liar!"

"Shut up, _usuratonkachi_."

"Stupid Sasuke!"

The blond man turned and ran in the direction of the training grounds. Sasuke momentarily debated following him, but preparations had to be made and paperwork needed to be done before heading out. Sighing, he faced the other way and walked slowly back to his apartment.

Naruto did not come back to see him at all that day.

* * *

"Are you sure he knows you're going?" Haruno Sakura handed her former teammate a medical kit neatly wrapped in leather binding.

"He has my damn mission sheet," the darker figure grunted as he swirled the black cloak tight about himself, taking the kit and slipping it into his white belt pouch. The pink-haired woman made a face and waved off their friend's behavior dismissively.

"It's Naruto, I wouldn't be too worried," she tried to assure him in the best way she knew how. "He'll probably attack you as you're leaving the village."

"Probably," he grimaced and pulled the white, red-stripped porcelain mask over his scowling face. "Thanks. I'll see you in a week or so."

"Good luck, Sasuke!" Sakura watched him go, waving after him. Sasuke moved silently through the crowds of Konoha's streets, glancing into the throngs of people for a familiar streak of bright yellow and green. When he finally reached the city gates, he briefly turned and looked back. Nothing. Sighing inwardly, he started out on the path.

"S-Sasuke! Sasuke, wait!" The voice made him tense. Only when the caller was in his Sharingan range did he relax: it was Hyuuga Hinata. She caught up to him and took a second to collect her breath while Sasuke waited patiently. Finally, she straightened and held out a long black shaft. "Naruto told me to give this to you before you left; he said you forgot it in his apartment…"

He looked at it again: it was his sword. His damn _sword._ And that's when he realized he wasn't wearing it at his hip, as per usual.. Flushing slightly, and grateful the woman couldn't see that, Sasuke took the black-sheathed blade from her. "Thank you," he nodded. She shook her head and smiled softly, giving him a small wave.

"Thank him. I'm just glad I found you in time. Good luck, Sasuke!" And with that, she ran back into town. Sasuke watched her disappear into the flock of people down in the streets, then shook his head and started out again, tying the sword to his left hip as he walked.

"I'm so stupid--" _'Stupid Sasuke!' _"…Why didn't he just come and bring it to me himself? Is he really that mad…?" The black-haired man snapped his head abruptly from side to side. "Who cares? _I'm_ the one that has to be on a mission for my birthday."

Feeling particularly bitter, Uchiha Sasuke left on his mission.

* * *

Five of them. Maybe six, if he was reading the charkas correctly. He could do it, but… _Dammit, Shikamaru. The mission statement said nothing about _this_…_ It was supposed to be a simple in-and-out: go into the old mansion, steal (although his fellow Anbu liked to call it 'obtain') a forbidden jitsu scroll that had been left behind in the aftermath of a nasty battle between two clans, and come back with it so it could be properly sealed and placed in safekeeping. That was _not_ the way it was turning out, however, and Sasuke had to wonder briefly if the lazy jounin had actually _predicted_ this would happen. Oh, he would have _words_ with the other man when he got back. But for now, Sasuke returned his attention to the five (six?) shinobi gathered at the top of the old stairs that led out. Normally, he would have used a window for his escape, but his stakeout of the mansion earlier that day told him that all the windows were either blocked off or boarded up, and the quickest (and _easiest_) route was right down the stairs and out the front door. Not right now, it seemed.

"It's not here! They said it would be!" One.

"Maybe someone got to it first?" Two.

"No one's been in this mansion for _years_! It's closed off, and people think it's haunted…" One again.

"Speaking of, I have a really creepy feeling…" Three.

"Oh, don't tell me you're afraid of ghosts!" One _again_.

"No!" Three defended himself. "I just… I feel something weird, okay?"

"R-Really? I feel something too…" Four.

"The _both_ of you are morons." Five. "Let's just find this thing and go. I'm hungry."

"Look who's talking." Two grumbled and Sasuke barely caught it. Five didn't even hear it.

"Alright, do one more sweep of the--_what_ is it, for godsakes?" Five was interrupted by someone.

"Seriously… I feel something coming from over there." Sasuke didn't even bother to count who it was; _they were pointing at his corner!_ "Something…hot. Like a fire." _…fire?_

"There's no fire, you idiot." Six, and the leader. _There _are_ six--damn you to _hell_, Shikamaru!_

"But…"

"No. Find that damn scroll."

"But…!"

Five sighed: "I'll go check it out, sir."

"_Thank_ you," Six sounded like he was rolling his eyes. Number five started closer. Sasuke tried not to panic, and he forced his mind to clear so he could concentrate on a quick solution: _Alright, Uchiha. There are definitely six, and you have a basic idea of where each of them is. If you leave a doppelganger here, you can rush past them and down the stairs. But, that tells them someone got there before them and the chase begins. I have to end up fighting them, whether I run or stay. So, I may as well get the jump on them…_

Sasuke pulled out his trademark windmill shurinkan and lunged.

Five separate death screams rattled the dusty walls of the empty mansion. Five dull _thumps_ of five different bodies hitting the rotting wood floorboards echoed in the darkness. Five. _Five! Where's the sixth--?_

The attack came from behind. Sasuke dropped the large-bladed weapon and snapped open the sword's thumbstrap, pushing the handle away from the scabbard and--

He was dead.

Sasuke blinked his fading red eyes once. Twice. Then he rubbed them and blinked three times in rapid succession. There were six bodies now, and five of them were his doing. The sixth--the leader--was sprawled in a bloody heap right behind where he had been crouching and half-turned to meet the ambush attack. The wounds were wide, jagged gashes, and the black-haired man could swear he knew the only person that actually attacked like that…

"Naruto?" he spoke aloud, and then he shook his head in denial. "No, you can't be here, you're--"

"And why can't I be here? Don't think I can handle it?"

More blinking from the black-haired Anbu. He finally saw a pair of feet that neither belonged to himself or the enemy. His eyes followed the blue-clad legs up to a slender waist tied off by a brown belt, tucked under a forest green vest that covered a broad chest that two blue-sleeved arms were crossed over. And it was all topped with a scarred, scowling face and a mass of blond spikes held back from sharp blue eyes by a metal headband tied tight against his forehead.

"Na…ruto?"

"Yeah," the blond scowled and picked up the blood-covered shurinkan, wiping it absent-mindedly across his chest, staining the vest he wore an ugly brown. Then he flipped it closed so the four bladed aligned and handed it back to his partner with a half-upset look.

Sasuke took it, feeling dumbstruck: "Did you…follow me?"

At this, Naruto grinned. "You could call it that." He pointed his chin at the sword Sasuke still had half-drawn. "In actuality, I just traced the signature I left on that sword and arrived in time to help."

"Signature?" he asked, but at the same time, it now made sense why the recently-departed shinobi had felt a fiery aura nearby. Naruto's aura--his signature. _Of course._

"That's the main reason I ran off the other day, and that's why I couldn't come say goodbye to you before you left. I had to finish that."

"That?" He knew he sounded dumb, but he couldn't help it; he was still stuck on the signature thing. _Naruto came up with a system like _that_ all by _himself

"Your birthday present."

"My birthday--"

"Happy birthday, Sasuke."

He did some more blinking. Truth be told, the mere thought of doing anything else right now just seemed impossible. The blond was grinning at him, but then he suddenly slapped a hand to his forehead and grimaced.

"Ah, hell," he pouted. "I told Iruka I'd meet him for lunch and I'm late. And if he finds out I did something like this, he'd kill me." His eyes flickered. "Oh yeah! So, whenever you're on a mission and you need help, or you just want to see me, just pull the sword like you did before and I'll be here." His grin softened into a smile. "Okay? Even if it's for something little, just, call me to your side, okay? I want to be able to welcome you home, and I can't do that if you're dead." That shocked Sasuke out of his…well, shock. "See you when you get home, Sasuke. Safe journey. And happy birthday again." And with another dazzling smile, Naruto was gone as quickly as he had shown up. Sasuke just stood there, half-drawn sword in his right hand and the folded up windmill shurinkan in his left, his blank and confused look covered by the white porcelain Anbu mask still pulled down over his face. Finally, he blinked one last time, turned, and headed down the stairs and out the door toward home.

_Naruto… When I see you, I'm going to beat you senseless for doing something so stupid,_ he reasoned. _Then, I'm going to kiss you until you can't breathe for giving me something so wonderful… _He contemplated this and nodded in satisfaction. _And then, then you can welcome me home._


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes:** Sorry I didn't clarify how that sword gift really worked. In essence, it's just like the Yondaime Hokage's "yellow flash" trick--the one that made him famous on the battlefield. He ties a knot, essentially, of his own chakra to a solid object (in the previous story's case, Naruto tied his chakra to the blade of the sword) and when the object is "used", he registers the use of his chakra and "summons" himself to the signature. Like teleportation; moving through space at incredible speeds. Hope that clarified.

* * *

"Anyaknow whaddelse? Knowhaddelse?"

"What else?" Uchiha Sasuke smirked as he downed his second shot of whiskey and watched his raving drunk boyfriend across the table waving his fourth glass of vodka around haphazardly.

"I'm _not _a _dobe_!" Uzumaki Naruto slurred, jabbing a finger through the air at his partner. "Ammnot!"

"Oh?" Sasuke just lifted one elegant dark eyebrow and continued to let the blond make a fool of himself.

"You always sayyit, so I'm tellin' ya, I'm _not_!"

"You're not?"

"'Saright," he nodded defiantly, draining the last of his drink and waving the bar waitress over for another. "I'm not. Anna prove it, I joined theanbus people."

_Theanbus people…? Anbus…? The Anbu? _The Uchiha's usually calm face broke into one of utter panic: his dark eyes flew open wide and his cheeks suddenly flamed an angry crimson as his mouth gaped around words that would not come. The woman brought Naruto his fifth drink, took one look at Sasuke, and went to refill his shot glasses. Shaking slightly, the dark-haired man rose to his feet, an aura blacker than death and more menacing than Gaara on a bad day flaring up around him.

"Naruto…"

The drunken man looked up with a bored expression: "Eh?"

"_YOU JOINED THE ANBU SQUAD?_" The bar waitress sighed and filled a third shot glass for the aneurysming ninja.

"Ow…" Naruto rubbed his tender ears. "Whyrrya yellin', man?"

"_You joined the Anbu Squad!_" he repeated, slamming his hands down on the table, making the empty glasses clink together and fall over with several small popping crashes. "Why? Why would you do such a ridiculous thing, Naruto?"

The blond puffed his scarred cheeks in agitation, looking slightly hurt as the hesitant waitress lay the new glass of vodka and the three whiskey shots on the table and scurried away as fast as her legs could take her. She had seen the broken pieces of glass beside the table, but decided it would be better to get a yell from her boss than a sharp object to the head, so she didn't clean it up right away.

"You wouldn't lissentame evanif I tired splanin'," Naruto grumbled.

"_Try me_," the snake-like hiss was unmistakable. It sobered the blond up good.

"I…" he cleared his throat, also trying to clear the alcohol from his head at the same time, "It's just… You've been risking your life this whole time, and…and, I can't stand sitting at home waiting for you to come back…"

Sasuke really didn't understand his boyfriend's reasoning. "So then," he took a deep breath to calm himself as he sat down and picked up one of his shot glasses, "why exactly did you join?"

Naruto sighed and leaned forward with his forearms on the tabletop, clasping his drink in both hands and watching the gold liquid swirl and gleam gently with the dim overhead lights. His brow furrowed. "You always put yourself in danger, every time you go out on a mission," he tried to string his thoughts together in a coherent pattern. "You…wouldn't understand how nerve-wrecking that is. To know that the person you care about most in this world is constantly in danger of leaving you forever…"

"_Dobe_…" Sasuke started, then saw Naruto giving him an impatient glare, so, he corrected himself momentarily. "Naruto, do you really think I'd get taken out that easily? I thought you had more faith in me than that."

"If I have to have faith in you, why can't you have a little more faith in me?" he shot back, lifting eyes to his boyfriend's that weren't exactly dry… "I joined the Anbu because I thought that if I could be there with you, I could keep an eye on you, and not have to worry as much, and…"

"…protect me?"

Naruto flinched. "…maybe."

Sasuke sighed inwardly and tossed the shot back with a skill that came from much practice. "I think," he finally spoke up, picking up the second shot glass with slightly shaking fingers, "that I complete my missions efficiently _because_ you're there at home, waiting for me." He grinned humorlessly and downed the second one. "You can welcome me home when I come back."

* * *

There was a strained silence as neither man looked up from their final drinks of the night. The waitress inched toward them cautiously with a broom and a dustpan, and when she was certain nothing sharp was flying her way, she knelt and swept up the pieces of broken glass. The abrupt scraping of a chair's back legs against the floor wrenched her gaze upward; the blond was standing and fishing in his pocket for something. His partner stood up as well, and both of them each dropped a handful of yen onto the tabletop. She blinked up at them.

"Keep the change," the blond man gave her a slight smile as he turned to leave the bar. "I owe you for those glasses."

"My fault," the taller man with black hair didn't glance her way, but address her anyway. "Thank you for the drinks."

"You're…welcome?" she blinked as she watched them leave.

* * *

"There's no helping it: I'm in the squad with you now."

"Who okayed this?"

"Not telling you."

"You just want to be stubborn."

"I just don't want you _killing_ anyone."

"Sometimes, you're too cute for your own good, _dobe_."

"Sasuke…"

"Shut up. We're drunk; I have a mission tomorrow--"

"Enough! But this time we're going to _your _place. Your damn hair clogs my shower drain."

"You're not so cute anymore."

"Too bad. You started it."

"Did not."

"I'm in the Anbu whether you like it or not."

"Alright, alright. Just…promise me something."

"What?"

"…that you'll definitely welcome me home this one last time."

"…now you're the one who's being cute."

"Bah."


	8. Chapter 8

Have I ever told you that you're the sunshine of my life?

…No, I'm not saying it to be mushy or cute or cliché. I mean it.

What do you think sunshine is?

It's light, it's hope, it's the coming of something fresh and new and bright and beautiful. It's a whispered promise on my ears, a gentle kiss across my cheeks, a soft sigh against my chest. It's everything to me.

What? I'm not going to deny it.

You're everything to me. Why else would I be here now? Pfft, you think I'm here for my _health_? I stay and I endure the shit to see the sunshine; that's the honest to god truth.

Still don't believe me?

I can show you…

* * *

He watched the other teenager from his lounging perch in the treetops. His amber-black eyes seemed to suck in the very shadows around him, surrounding him in this constant dark aura that had nothing to do with his mood. That was just the way he was. The other one, though…he was special. _Different_. The first one couldn't help but think that each time he watched him like this. It was like he _became_ the sunlight: the rays didn't just _catch_ on his hair, they came _from_ it; his eyes weren't blue _like_ the sky, they reflected the sky itself, broad and beautiful and so, _so_ deep. He could get lost in that ever-blue stare, and it was hard not to do so, even when you had your guard up all the time like he did. As he watched, he could swear the dark tanned flesh rippling over taunt muscles was merely an extension of the sun-drenched earth he crossed with each jab and cartwheel and lunge. One huge, fluid motion of sunshine and warmth. God, he loved the _warmth_ that emanated from him. It was all-consuming; the power of it burned away darkness, doubt, fear, and engulfed you in never-ending confidence and peace. And love. Oh yes, there was love. He felt it each time their eyes met, each time their hands intertwined. He knew it was there every time they argued and squabbled and fought, all he had to do was look _through_ his eyes, those big, soul-filled blue eyes, and see himself staring back, and he knew the truth. He was his, and the other belonged to him. And neither questioned it, because that was the way things worked, and it was _right_, so everything was fine.

He looked up, pushing the golden strands away from the wide blueness. "What the hell are you staring at?"

"Your stance is weak," he said calmly from his perch on the tree branch and was rewarded with a kunai flying straight at his face. Effortlessly, he slipped out a shurinkan and flipped it causally in the other weapon's direction, where they clashed in mid-air and deflected one another, the dagger going into the dirt and the star sticking into the bark of the tree.

"Showoff," he growled.

"You're just too slow," he jumped out of the tree, landing gracefully on his feet.

A flare of power surged against him suddenly, and he was almost overtaken by a wave of sunlight so strong it nearly blinded him. Then again, he always became blinded when it came to this one. Who was pouting. It was cute if not endearing, and it claimed a small smile from the darker boy's lips.

"You're laughing at me," the heat of his glare rolled off him in torrents.

"It's easy to do," the smile widened.

"Bastard!"

"Idiot."

"Asshole!"

"Moron."

"Fucker!"

"_Dobe._"

And he knew he had won, just like that. The boy's fiery anger had extinguished as soon as it had come. This conflict was natural to them, and to hell be damned if it ever changed.

"You owe me ramen for that."

"I get called a fucker, but you get ramen?"

"I could call you a lot worse."

And he opened his mouth to start yet another argument, another challenge, and abruptly decided against it.

"You could," he agreed, catching the other off guard. And before he could voice his suspicions, his comrade had turned back toward the village. "Come on, let's get you your ramen." And so they walked toward the restaurant in silence, one of them quietly puzzled and the other simply basking in the brilliant warmth of his own personal sun. And when the boy reached out and took his hand, he let the sun-baked earthen flesh wrap around his own seamlessly, as if it had been that way since the beginning of time. And it felt nice.

* * *

Take it to heart, _dobe_. You're the sunshine of my life, the light of my world, and you've got another thing coming if you think that's going to change at all. I'm just glad that you _understand_ this even though I never say it aloud. You know me; you know this--the truth. No one can tell us otherwise. I don't care how many times I'm pushed aside or you're knocked down: you'll always be the sunlight that guides me home. That welcomes me back without judgment or bias. The light that welcomes me home.

Thank you. For being my sunshine. Thank you for knowing exactly who I am and how I feel.

Thank you for being you.


	9. Chapter 9

"WHAT!"

Kakashi flinched and rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Well, I just think it's really important to develop all your skills individually as well as in a group."

"But sensei!" Sakura protested, looking slightly worried. "We're just genjin! The possibility of running into problems on, even a C-class mission, are--"

"I'm very well aware of the circumstances on each of the missions Iruka-sensei and I chose out for the three of you _personally_," he tried to look reassuring. At the mention of _personally chosen_, Sakura seemed to calm down slightly. At the mention of _Iruka_, Naruto went into a question frenzy.

"Then what kind of missions are they? Are they important? How long will each take? Is one more important than another? Does Iruka-sensei agree to this too?"

Kakashi tried to stretch his already-considerable patience a little further for the blond: "Naruto, you know that I don't need Iruka-sensei's agreement for anything, because you are no longer his students, you're mine. _But_," he saw the hurt look crossing Naruto's face, "I did consult with him on each of your missions, and none of them are too hard _or_ too easy," he threw a look to his third student, who snuffed and turned away once more from the conversation, "and they can be finished in around the same time-frame."

"Well, alright…" Sakura still looked doubtful. Naruto had turned to their silent teammate and was no longer pelting Kakashi with questions, so he thought it would be a good time to hand out the assignment sheets. He did so. Sakura, like the dutiful shinobi she was, took her sheet, read it over twice, nodded, and waited for further instructions from her teacher. Naruto hadn't been paying attention after the initial barrage of questions, and so Kakashi had to roll up his mission sheet and bop him over the head with it to get his attention. Naruto wrinkled his nose at what his paper said, made a '_che'_ sound in his throat, tucked the paper into his jacket and proceeded to look sulky. Sasuke took his wordlessly, glanced it over, inclined his head toward his teacher, and stood up straight from leaning against the tree they had met under.

"I'm going to get ready," he said quietly and started down the path toward the inner workings of Konoha. Sakura, who was faster on the uptake than her blond counterpart, blinked and looked over at their teacher, who was trying to sneak away unnoticed.

"Kakashi-sensei," she said a little too sweetly and Kakashi knew he'd have to put up with answering questions or face the wrath of a girl in love. He decided a few minutes of quick torture couldn't kill him… "Why does Sasuke-kun have to 'get ready' for his mission? Anything 'special'?" Kakashi swore, nothing got past this girl. If she could focus on something other than the dark-haired Uchiha, she'd quickly rise to the top of the shinobi ranks.

"Nothing important," he tried to shrug off-handedly. "I just sent him down the road to the town in the valley."

"The valley?" Naruto stirred out of his thoughts. "Why does that bastard get to go to the valley?"

"Because, if I let Sakura go, she might get attacked by bandits on the way, and if I let you go, no offense, the negotiations wouldn't go so well," Kakashi answered as bluntly as possible. It was the only way to deal with these three quickly sometimes.

"Negotiations?" Sakura raised an eyebrow and Kakashi inwardly sighed.

"Look, why don't the two of you just go and ask him yourselves? I'm late for my meeting with the Hokage anyway," he glanced back, hoping the building wasn't suddenly closed and his only means of escaping the questions was gone. "See you; good luck on your missions." And with a whirl of green leaves, he was gone. Sakura made an annoyed face and turned to Naruto.

"Well?"

"Well, what?" he blinked up at her.

"Don't you want to know what Sasuke's mission is?"

"Not particularly," he lied.

She rolled her eyes (she knew him better than that): "Well then, what's yours?"

He rummaged in the folds of his jacket and came out with the already-crinkled paper. "It says," he scrunched his nose, "I've gotta help with construction of the new playground."

"That sounds important," she tried to sound cheerful. Naruto hated being giving crap missions, and she kind of had to agree with him on that point. "Better than mine, anyway. It just says I have to escort someone around Konoha for a couple of days."

"Pfft," he jammed the paper into his jacket again. "Sasuke's such a lucky bastard."

She knew she wasn't going to win this: "Maybe you can ask him to bring you back something from the village or something."

"Nn," he stood up and brushed himself off, a brief flicker of something deeper than his normal face showing in his eyes before he turned his head to her and gave her a wide grin that screamed _emptiness._ "Right then! I'll go bother him some before he goes! Later, Sakura-chan!"

And with a wave, he ran off. Sakura watched him go, an orange streak across the otherwise-unbroken green of the training grounds, with her mission statement clutched to her chest. Sometimes, just sometimes, she felt a little sad for Naruto, and she couldn't explain why…

* * *

"Sasuke!"

"Che," he finished stuffing his secondary change of clothes into his pack as the blond tumbled through the door of his house. _Annoying…_

"Ne, Sasuke!" he peeked over the raven-haired boy's shoulder to watch what he was doing. "How long do you think this mission's gonna take?" Sometimes the best method of getting rid of someone annoying was to ignore them. Then they got annoyed with _you_ and left you alone. "Do you think you could bring me back something nice? Huh?" Obviously, Naruto had missed the memo for getting rid of annoying people.

Sighing, Sasuke turned to get his weapon holster from the top of his dresser. "What do you think this is, _dobe_?" he shook his head. "A pleasure trip?"

"Well, if _I_ were going, _I'd_ take my time and try to see everything!" Naruto plopped down on Sasuke's bed like he'd been invited to do so. Sasuke felt his left eyebrow twitching slightly. He ignored it.

"Well, _I_ don't _care_ what you'd do, Naruto. _I'm_ not you," the slightly-taller boy yanked the bag away from Naruto, who was already peeking inside of it, and went over to the closet to collect the last of his items before heading out. If he left this afternoon, he could be halfway to the village by nightfall, in the village itself by sometime late morning, get the damn medicine that apparently the hokage needed, and start back that afternoon--

"Bastard." He wasn't sure he had heard it right the first time. Turning from the closet, Sasuke caught a glimpse of Naruto's face reflected on the glass of his bedroom window. Was he--? "You're a damn bastard, Uchiha!" he shot off the bed, storming toward the room door. "I just wanted…! I wanted to…! Agh!" Naruto threw his arms up and stomped down the hall toward the front door. "Forget it! See you when you come back, asshole!" The door slammed, rattling the panes of glass in their frames and knocking over one of the two framed pictures he had on his bedside table. He heard the glass crack. Hesitating for a moment, Sasuke glanced the way the blond had trampled out of his house and then scooped up the bronze picture frame. His graduation picture of Team Seven. The glass was cracked in half, splitting the picture right down the middle, tiny spider web cracks blurring Sakura and Kakashi's faces, leaving just he and Naruto unobstructed. His lips twisted in a slight grimace and he set the broken frame down, shaking his head slightly.

"Forget it," he spoke aloud, and it made him feel better. But only slightly. Sasuke hoisted his pack onto his shoulders, double-checked to see if he had everything, and left when he was sure he wasn't forgetting something. Still, as he walked toward the path leading out of town, he felt a nagging in the back of his mind. He tried to shake it off as he left Konoha: _You're just on your first solo mission; it's nerves. Relax._ That would have worked, if Sasuke's subconscious hadn't already figured out what had gone wrong.

* * *

_Dammit, that's three times now._

Naruto stopped in front of the apartment complex for the third time that evening and shoved his hands in his pockets, slouching his shoulders. The setting sun warmed his curved back and made his shadow look like something his friend Shikamaru could conjure up with one of his family's shadow-manipulation jitsus. But that was only a temporary reprieve from the thoughts that had been bothering him since Sasuke had left this afternoon. _I shouldn't have acted like such a spoiled brat, _he scuffing one foot over the dirt path and watching his shadow-foot do the same thing. _No wonder he thinks I'm so annoying. I _am _annoying. _He sighed and scuffed his foot again and this time something _clink_ed.

"Clink?" Naruto blinked and knelt down to brush aside some of the dirt he had kicked. It was a small silver key on a simple ring with a tag on it. The tag had a simple paper-fan symbol etched on one side of it. _Uh-oh. This is Sasuke's apartment key…_ He must have dropped it on his way out of Konoha. Naruto considered slipping it under the door, but came to the conclusion that idea was just stupid as he climbed the stairs to the second floor and turned left to get to Sasuke's door at the end of the hall. _I could leave it on top of the doorframe…_ Only it didn't take a genius to find a key up on top of a doorframe, and if someone broke into Sasuke's house while he was gone, Naruto himself would feel responsible--

"Well, there's only one thing _to_ do," he whispered with a faint grin and slid the key into the lock, flipping back the tumblers and turning the silver knob, opening the door to Sasuke's apartment. He closed the door behind him and stood in the dark foyer for a few seconds, a little shocked at himself for doing something like this so abruptly. _Oh well, it's done now._ Indeed. Naruto stepped inside. Not knowing where to go really (and he couldn't find the light switch because it had gotten a bit too dark, and he had never really _stayed_ in Sasuke's apartment any longer than a few minutes, and that was only a handful of times) Naruto let his feet take him down the short, clean hall to the only room in the house he knew: Sasuke's bedroom. Everything was neat and tidy and--_is that glass on the floor?_

It was. Naruto felt a flush of guilt as he knelt beside the bed and tried to figure out where the shards of glass had come from. _That must have been when I slammed the door earlier. But where…?_ The picture frame on the tabletop in front of him. A picture of him. And Kakashi and Sakura too. But they were almost non-existent beneath the tangle of spider-web cracks spread across the remaining piece of glass in the frame. _Shit._ He'd broken something _important_.

"No wonder he didn't come to say goodbye…" he murmured and began scooping up the shiny slivers from the floor. "Ow!" One of them jabbed into the meat of his palm and drew a thick bead of blood. _It's because I can't friggin' see in this damn house._ Well, leaving the glass on the floor was out of the question--what if Sasuke stepped on it when he got back? And, since it was kind of late already, and he was inside, Naruto had kind of figured he'd sleep in Sasuke's bed (only tonight) and wouldn't that be nice to wake up in the morning, roll out of bed, and step on pieces of glass? Nope, couldn't wait for tomorrow. "Ow! Dammit…" Another jab, another small cut, this time on his thumb. He sucked the pad of his thumb briefly, screwed up his resolve, and grabbed most of the glass pieces in both of his hands, reaching over and dropping it in the trash bin that was next to the bedside table. Lucky Sasuke was tidy, huh? Grinning humorlessly, Naruto went back to feel around for the smaller shards.

* * *

"Oy, Sakura-chan!"

"Ah, Naruto! How's your mission going?"

"Yeah, great, whatever. You know where I can buy glass for a picture frame?"

"Glass for a frame?"

"Yeah, not too big. Just this much." He held his thumbs and pointer fingers in two separate L-shapes and held them eight inches apart.

"Erm… I think they sell frames in that shop there," she pointed back over her shoulder at a pawn shop. "But I don't know if they sell glass individually--"

"Okay! Thanks, Sakura!"

"Naruto? Did you hear a word I said? Naruto! …Oh honestly, what does he need glass for, anyway?"

* * *

He had dropped his damn keys somewhere. The landlord didn't have them, so no one had turned them in, and he was almost positive he hadn't lost them along the two day trip, so then, where the hell were they? Sasuke went up to his apartment anyway; maybe he could trace some chakra someone may have left behind? But when he got to the door, he didn't need to do that. _What the--?_ Cautiously, he opened the door and peered inside.

"Naruto?" he called. Silence greeted his call, but he wasn't mistaken: a bag was propped against the island in the center of the kitchen area, and an orange jacket was poking out of the top of it. But why was Naruto here? And where?

Soft snoring answered the second question. He placed his pack down on the armchair by the door and approached his bedroom quietly, pushing the door open gently so it wouldn't' squeak and wake up his room's occupant…which was _not_ him. The blond lay on his side, the moonlight coming through the window making his golden hair shimmer surreally, breathing softly as he slept. Sasuke noted with slight curiosity that Naruto's hands were bandaged. And in another second, he knew why: the shards he had left on the floor were gone and there was a new pane of glass in the bronze picture frame. Sasuke didn't quite know what to say (or do, for that matter). He started by taking Naruto's shoulder in one hand and shaking him awake…not as roughly as he was accustomed to, though.

"Naruto," he whispered. "Hey, Naruto?"

"Nn…? Sas…" he let his blue eyes open slightly. "Sasuke… welcome home…"

Sasuke blinked, taken off-guard for a moment. Then he sat down on the mattress next to his teammate instead of kicking him out of the bed (which, by all rights, he should have done).

"_Do--_" he started, caught himself, and shook his head. "Naruto, why are you in my house?"

"'Cause you left your keys in front of the building like a dumb-head," Naruto giggled sleepily and Sasuke had to admit that was the first time someone had ever called him a dumb-head. "An' I didn't want anyone mean coming in here and messin' up your stuff, so, I came in and there was glass on the floor." At this point, he sat up a little bit and glanced down over the edge of the bed, then up at Sasuke and gave him a sleepy grin. It made Sasuke's heart squeeze warmly in his chest. "I picked it up. Hurt," he held up his bandaged hands and the black-haired boy took the injured hands in both of his before he knew what he was doing. It startled him.

"You…" he tried to talk past the sudden lump that was welling up in his throat.

"So glad you're back, Sasuke," Naruto smiled at him and whatever apprehensions ha still had at this point melted away under the blazing warmth of that smile. "I wanted to 'plogize," his brow furrowed slightly. "I was acting stupid; I'm sorry."

"No…" Sasuke managed to get out, releasing Naruto's hands and standing. "I was short with you. Sorry."

"Mm." There was that smile again. Sasuke couldn't look at it; it made him weak in the knees. "S'just the way you are, it's cool."

"You can go back to sleep there," Sasuke turned toward the door, "I'll sleep on the couch, but only tonight. After that, I don't want you in my bed ever again."

"You sure about that?" For a moment, Naruto sounded horribly _coherent_ and Sasuke whirled around, his cheeks tinged a very interesting shade of red indeed, his mouth open to retort, but Naruto had rolled over onto his other side and snuggled down into the comforter.

"You have a nice bed," he mumbled from a state halfway between sleep and wakefulness. "G'night, Sasuke…and welcome back again…"

Then he was breathing deeply. Meanwhile, Sasuke had temporarily forgotten how to do so. Sucking in a lungful of air, Sasuke turned and walked out of his bedroom, for once, slightly okay in the fact that he had just lost. Lost what, he wasn't exactly sure…but he certainly hadn't been the winner in that little exchange.

Dammit.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes: **Taking time to say thanks once more. All your reviews are very encouraging. :D I know the stories are getting a bit...odd, and this is no exception. I promised fluffiness, and all I've been delivering is angst lately. Sorry. I promise, after this really, _really _weird short, I'll go back to the fluff. Enjoy. Oh, and was giving me a bit of problems, so this is formatted kind of weirdly. But Naruto is the one thinking to himself first, and after that, it's all stuff in Sasuke's head. Any questions, just ask.

-

"Sasuke?" It was on the fourth call of his name that the black-haired jounin turned his eyes from the window. His companion flinched inwardly at the dull, _vacant_ look in his eyes--like he was no longer here, present, part of this world and this time. He was back in the past again, and with a deep feeling of fear, the blond realized that he could lose his friend to the darkness.

"Mm?" came the half-hearted reply, but he was already staring back out the window, tuning the other man out. Naruto didn't know whether to feel upset or sad.

"Are you…okay?"

A slight nod was his only response.

"Um…Sakura invited us over for dinner tonight…"

Sasuke didn't look around again.

"At seven."

No response.

"It's six thirty now."

Nothing.

Naruto sighed and ran a hand back through his hair. _What the hell am I supposed to do when he's like this? What do I say?_ Nothing came to mind, no great idea came to save him from the awkwardness, and his long-time friend continued to ignore him.

-

I never asked what happened the day you came home. I found you sitting on my doorstep, bleeding and bruised and broken, but _alive_ and you can't imagine how happy I was that you were back. I just welcomed you home with open arms and waited for you to tell me on your own time, when _you_ felt it was the right time. And I still want that. But what I don't want is you wasting away in that corner of the apartment, never saying a word, never truly looking me in the eyes, never really there at all. Like you never really came back. Every day I wake up, I think that finding you on the stoop was a dream and that you aren't here after all, and then I see you in this corner and I'm relieved, but only a little.

How can I be relieved when you're dying in front of my eyes?

-

He called his old friend and told her another time. She sounded disappointed, but the tone of her voice told him she understood: _'He's still the same, isn't he?'_ He dropped the phone receiver back in its cradle and glanced out of the main room, down the hall, into the bedroom where he saw Sasuke's form still slouched in the chair by the window, one hand laying across his stomach, the other hanging down at his side, fingers relaxed. Briefly, Naruto wondered if Sasuke were uncomfortable in that position, but he knew he wasn't. He slept in that chair, ate (if you called it that) sitting there, eyes hazy and far-off. Naruto couldn't sleep in the room with him anymore, he had moved to his couch. It just unnerved him too much.

"Sasuke…" he walked back to the room and stood in the doorway for a moment, looking at the back of the other man's dark head. He swallowed hard. "Sakura says hi." Just as before, he didn't get a response. "She says we're welcome over whenever we'd like to drop by…" And suddenly, he couldn't take it anymore. Naruto strode across the bedroom and dropped to a crouch beside Sasuke's chair. "Come on, snap out of it! It's been months already! How long are you gonna stay like this? Sasuke!"

Sasuke's lips twitched and his lips parted and Naruto stared up at him wide-eyed, waiting for a voice he hadn't heard in almost nine years. He pulled in a soft whistling breath, shifted slightly in his chair, his dangling hand bumping Naruto's knee lightly, and continued to stare out the window. Naruto's balance gave way and he crashed to his hands and knees beside his teammate, reaching out blindly and finding his pale, lax fingers.

"SASUKE! COME ON, DAMMIT! SASUKE!" Naruto wailed, hot tears stinging his eyes. "WAKE THE HELL UP! _WAKE UP! SASUKE!_"

-

I've been wandering for months, I think. I don't know, I lost track of the time. Days and nights melted into each other, but somehow, I found my way back to my past. I live in my house with my parents and my brother, and there's no such thing as a Sharingan blood-line limit, Orochimaru, or Team Seven for that matter. They're just distant and faded memories that I had to pass through in order to get here, where I was my happiest.

At least, that's what I first thought.

There's something that's been bothering me for some time now. Aside from my family, there's a voice that occasionally calls out to me. It's loud and annoying and somehow _bright_, I can't explain how, but it is. I think it's a person from back then, the nightmare place, and I _know_ I don't want to go back there because it's full of things that will make me hurt and cry and feel alone.

And I know what it is to feel alone. I never want that again.

Still… That voice sounds like it's in pain, and it wrenches my heart every time I hear it. No one else does--I've asked--just me. Sometimes I wonder who it is, and I feel myself starting to pull back into that dark nightmare place, and I push it as far away as I can. I don't want that! I don't want that pain, that sadness. I've had it all my life, and I don't want it anymore! Stop calling me! Stop trying to make me go back! I like it here! My mother smiles at me, my father praises me, my brother has time to play with me; let me have the things I lost! Let me be! Let me keep these things alive! I don't care if I die on the outside; I want this!

I…want this…

I…

-

Naruto gasped and looked up at his hand clutching at Sasuke's. His fingernails dug into the skin, making small crescent blood-markings. And Sasuke's fingers were doing the same to his own hand. Naruto felt the pain, but it didn't register. The only thing that he knew was that Sasuke was responding…

"Sasuke…" he sobbed, pulling their clenched hands to his forehead and pressing his brow against the other man's wrist. "Come back! For real, this time! Come back home, Sasuke!"

-

The first thing I lose is my mother's soft, smiling face. I start crying. She fades into nothingness as my father's encouraging words follow her out of existence. My brother's face lingers, shifting from a soft, caring smile to a cold and blood-stained scowl reflected in the blade of a katana. Chilling laugher swirls the face out of my mind and I'm cold. My skin prickles, feels slimy. _Snake skin_. No! No, I said I didn't want to! I didn't want this! I don't want to go back there, to him! I don't want--!

"_Sasuke…_" That voice again. And when I hear it, a piercing orange light floods my mind and cuts through the laugher and the darkness and falls on me, warming my body, peeling the scales away from my flesh. It's coming from another part of me; my heart. It throbs with power--it knows I'm listening. "_Come back home, Sasuke!_"

How…do I get there? I don't think I know the right way. I got lost once before… My heart pulses, the light extends. It moves away from me, drawing a line through the nightmare world, to a door that looks like it's been shut for quite some time. Years. And the voice is coming from behind that door: "_Come home… Come home…_"

I start walking over to it, and the closer I get, the brighter it becomes. As I reach for the handle, I hear a click. Someone's unlocked it from the other side.

-

"Naruto…?"

He snapped his head all the way up, pulling a tendon in his neck sharply. He didn't care. The black eyes were still looking out the window, but they were _here_.

"Sasuke?"

A blink. Then, his head tilted down to stare at their clenched and bleeding hands. Slowly, his black eyes rose to Naruto's blue ones.

"How long…have I been go--"

Naruto threw his arms around Sasuke's neck and hugged him fiercely, cutting off any other words he had wanted to speak.

"Welcome back, Sasuke!" he murmured into the long pale neck. "Welcome home…"

-

You mean…_this_ was the person behind the door?

-

"…_usuratonkachi._" Sasuke hugged him back. "I went through hell to get here."


	11. Chapter 11

_How…can I tell him? How can I let him know what I'm actually feeling?_ Uzumaki Naruto chanced a glance beside him.

"Naruto! Eyes on your own paper!" Iruka barked and he snapped his blue eyes forward again.

_Damn! I have to tell him; I can't keep this a secret any longer!_

For some time now, Naruto had been in love with his classmate. At least, he thought he was in love. That or he was pretty damn sure. He had all the signs: butterflies in the stomach every time he entered the room; shortness of breath whenever he looked into his eyes; hot flushes across his cheeks each time the other boy spoke to him. Yes, _boy_. Naruto was in love with a _boy_. But not just any ordinary boy--Naruto was in love with Uchiha Sasuke.

Which was a problem in and of itself.

The aforementioned genjin nibbled thoughtfully on the end of his pen, scribbled his last answer, and leaned back in his chair, looking pleased with his efforts. Naruto couldn't help it: he was staring again.

"Are you taking this test seriously, Naruto?" the voice came from his other side and he flinched, looking up at his teacher.

"Yes, sir," he mumbled down at his blank paper. Iruka raised an unconvinced eyebrow, but moved back down the row of desks to the front of the classroom.

"Don't let me catch you looking around again, you understand?"

He nodded and felt soft eyes on him. Blinking, he turned his head to the left and saw Sasuke staring at him with slightly amused eyes. He quickly dropped his gaze to the unmarked test paper and tapped his pencil against his nose nervously. The eyes were still on him. Taking in a deep breath and trying to push the non-test-related thoughts from his immediate concentration, Naruto started working.

_This is so dumb! _He mused to himself while his hand was numbly writing answers down. _I've known him since we were kids! He'd understand, right? And, what if he--_

_No. Stop right there, _another half of his brain halted that train of thought. His pencil tip jabbed loudly in the silence of the classroom and he quickly continued writing to avoid the stares. _Sasuke has his pick of girls at this academy! There's no way he'd fall for a scrawny, loud-mouthed brat like you!_

_But… Sasuke's the only one that's seen the real me._

There were times when Naruto felt so out of place, feeling the stares of hatred and disgust on him and it drove him crazy with heartache. But Sasuke had been the first person to ever look at him, not as _that _kid, but as another child who was growing up alone. They had connected and become close friends even before they officially met for the first time, where the two of them swore up and down to have nothing to do with the other. But it didn't work that way. Naruto was in love with Sasuke and there was just no helping it, no matter what the other boy felt…

"Five more minutes," Iruka announced and Naruto blinked himself from his thoughts, looking down at the seven questions he had left. He hurriedly scribbled some form of answers down in the lines provided and leaned back in his chair with an audible sigh. Iruka glanced up at him, but that was all. Naruto tossed the pencil onto the table in front of him where it rolled to the left and bumped softly against Sasuke's pen, which rocked slightly but otherwise didn't move. He looked to the pen's owner, and saw that he was sitting back in his chair in a similar way to himself, one hand resting lightly on his stomach and the other--the one closer to Naruto--dangling at his side. He looked down at the hand. And kept looking. And suddenly, it came to him.

_If I do this… Sasuke can't react vocally because we're in the middle of a test. And if he doesn't like it, I'll know and I'll just let go. But, if he does like it…_ Naruto gulped, then screwed up his courage. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, placing one hand behind his head and the other hand--the one closer to Sasuke--dropping to his side. Slowly, carefully, Naruto slipped his hand into Sasuke's and shyly entwined their fingers. Naruto felt the other boy's hand start slightly, and there was a tense moment of anticipation where he neither shook off the fingers or welcomed them. The blond could feel his face getting very, very hot. And just when he thought he should just pull away, pull away and pretend that he had been sleeping and it had only happened by accident because stupid Sasuke was always getting in the way…Sasuke's fingers tightened around his. Shocked, Naruto opened his eyes and glanced toward the window, seeing the other boy's face reflected in the smooth glass. His eyes were open and he was looking right back. Their fingers locked, their palms clasped together, and the message was delivered silently through the reflection: _Me too._

The hotness in his face spread all the way down his neck and Naruto closed his eyes again, letting himself relax. He felt, sensed, Sasuke's body doing the same beside him. Their hands stayed locked. And somehow, even though their hearts were racing and their minds were spinning, the two boys fell asleep that way.

* * *

Iruka dismissed his class, watching patiently as everyone got up and filed down the length of the room to hand in their tests. He watched the pile grow on his desktop as the number of students inside the classroom decreased. When movement ceased, he took up the papers and proceeded to stack them neatly, glancing up at the empty room. Two of his students had not left. Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke were both sitting back in their chairs with their eyes closed. Their tests were still in front of them, turned over to signal they were both finished. Iruka shook his head and got up, walking over to the joined desk and taking the papers, momentarily debating whether or not he should wake them up so they could go home. But they looked so peaceful…

_Well, as long as I stay in the classroom with them, they won't get in trouble,_ Iruka took the two papers back to his desk and sat, opening a side-drawer to retrieve his red marking pen, then got to work on grading. He never noticed the two boy's gently-clasped hands hiding beneath their joint desk.


	12. Chapter 12

I don't know what it was that possessed me to visit Uchiha Sasuke's house. I just knew that as soon as I sat up in bed that morning, I _had_ to go there, I had to see him. So, I pulled on my weekend clothes--a white t-shirt with a blue spiral on the front and blue jeans--yanked a comb back through my mess of yellow spikes and ran out of my house, almost forgetting to lock the door behind me. It was a lazy Saturday; the kind of day where one tends to stay indoors because it's just so damn _hot_ and _sticky_. But here I was, jogging up the hill toward the house of some guy that I can't hang out with half the time because he just gets on my _nerves_, and during a heat wave nonetheless. _Subconscious_, I thought to myself, _you'd better have a _damn _good reason for making me go all the way over here._

His door was open, and that struck me as odd when I stopped on his porch and looked inside. "Hello?" He didn't respond. "Sasuke?" I took a cautious step inside, looking around the foyer slowly. "The door was open…" I distantly heard music playing: it sounded classical, like piano and violins type classical. I shuffled inside and looked around the well-furnished place. Antique vases and dark mahogany tables decorated several corners of the room and there were ornate rugs on the floor and hanging over the back of the lush-looking couches. I was really afraid of ruining something so…pristine. Carefully, I made my way to the main hall, glancing left and right, trying to find my teammate.

"Sasuke?" I tried again. To my right, the music suddenly got louder as the instruments swelled into a crescendo and thundered out of speakers that seemed to be coming from outside… _A sound-system on the back porch? Sasuke, you lucky little shit._

"Hey, are you out th--" I made my way down the hall and pulled back the sliding glass door that led out to the backyard, then my words caught in my throat.

Sasuke was standing before a huge canvas (six feet tall and five feet wide, at least), a paintbrush hanging from his slightly-twitching fingers. He had his eyes closed, and his entire body was swaying to the rhythm of the music playing from his speakers. He had no shirt on. His entire upper torso, some of his face, and all of his hands and forearms were covered in thick, oily-looking paint, all different colors muddled on his skin by the sheen of sweat that coated his entire body. His khaki shorts were ruined. At my entrance, his eyes snapped open and he whirled to glare at me. I gulped and hid behind the glass…as much as one can hide behind transparent glass, anyway.

"I, erm… The door, it was open, so I…" I tried not to look guilty. "Um… Hi."

He stared at me in that uncomfortably intense way that only he knew how to. His black hair was slicked back, and had streaks of red in it. _Red? Oh, paint. _I couldn't stop my eyes from leaving his and traveling over the canvas behind him. He saw the movement and tried to lift one arm in a half-assed attempt to stop my eyes, but I guess he thought it was too late for that, so he just dropped it and stepped aside so I could see the whole thing. It looked like a landscape, but I had never seen something on this earth that was so beautiful and pure before; it made a lump rise in my throat. I felt myself walking forward but couldn't stop; I ended up beside him, my eyes trying to sweep over the entire surface at once. There were trees, tall and handsome, with a thick, jungle-esque look to them bordering a mystical-looking fountain of some sort. Or a spring…a giant pool of glowing, _vibrating_ water that radiated out from the lower-half of the picture plane. Tendrils of the sparkling water rose up and spiraled together, twisting into some type of crystallized fountain that never spilled over. The sky was a collection of pinks and oranges and gray-blues that folded over onto one another and created layers so thick and full that very air itself bore down on the trees and pressed the lush dark green leaves down, creating a counter-arc in the direction of brushstrokes. For the longest time, I couldn't tear my eyes away. When I finally did, I met Sasuke's heated glare.

"You can't tell _anyone_ you saw this," he hissed, eyes narrowed. I blinked, not expecting such hostility from the same person who created such beauty.

"Why…" _would I?_ was the question I wanted to retaliate with, but the question I asked was different, "not?"

"Because," he said bitterly and shoved past me, storming into the house. I couldn't follow him--couldn't bring myself to leave the presence of this painting. I watched him moving about the house, the music suddenly ending with a jarring abruptness that made me feel extremely uneasy. He stomped back and forth between rooms a couple of more times, looking decidedly cleaner each time he did so, until he came back outside dressed in a short-sleeved black shirt and unstained khaki shorts. There was still red in his hair though. He reached past me for the side of the painting.

"Sasuke?" His hand stopped. "Why don't you want anyone to know about this?"

"…because," he said a little less harshly, his eyes looking suddenly sad, "_he_ used to paint too."

_Oh._ I tried to think of something to ask that wouldn't involve him storming off in one of his traditional 'brother hissy fits'. I really wanted to know more about this side of him, and I wouldn't get any closer if I messed up right now.

"Well, how long have _you_ been painting?" I asked softly after a long moment. He considered the question, lowering his hand and looking up fully at the large painting. I saw a streak of blue-gray running down the line of his neck that he had missed in his cleanup.

"Since I was seven," he answered. I did the mental math: _One year before his brother went nuts. _I tried to find another suitable question, but everything I came up with ('Who taught you how? Who else paints in your family? Did you keep on painting even after your brother left?') just screamed _no_. Thankfully, he took my silence as an opportunity to talk freely about this unknown habit of his. "I saw my brother doing it one afternoon and tried to teach myself, but…" He laughed bitterly.

"…You did a good job," I said timidly and his eyes dropped down to mine, reflecting slight shock. I motioned toward the painting then shoved my hands awkwardly into my pockets. "I mean, teaching yourself and all. It looks really pretty."

I'm sure _pretty_ was not the word he had expected, but it still fit. After considering me, he nodded, the tenseness relaxing out of his shoulders. I gladly followed the example. "I stopped for a couple of years, then started up again after I entered the academy. It took a long while to get here."

"And that was only a few years ago," I turned my full attention to the painting. "Must have taken a lot of practice, and to have training on top of that." _Dammit! Does this guy have _any _flaws?_ "…Hey. Do you have others?"

"What?"

"Other paintings. Did you make any others?"

"Of course, _dobe._"

I let it slide. "Can I see them?"

He hesitated. "You promise not to laugh?"

"Much."

"Ass."

"Come on, Sasuke. Please?"

I think it was the _please_ that got him (wonders never ceased--today was a very strange day indeed). He nodded and motioned for me to follow, grabbing the border of the large painting and moving it over to the shaded porch where he leaned it against the wall, then he shoved open the glass door and walked into his house. I followed after him obediently. We shuffled into what was most-likely the master bedroom: king-size bed, ornate writing table and side chair, full-length mirror, ancient-looking weapons hanging on the walls. The only thing that told me that this was actually Sasuke's room were the random kunai scattered across the hardwood floor and his blue clan shirt hanging over the back of the chair by the window. I couldn't help it, I gaped.

"What?" he looked back at me from the closet, where he had pulled out several smaller canvases.

"I just…" I shook my head, also shaking the vision of the small, cramped living space I had to sleep in every night out of my thoughts. "It's nothing. So, let's see."

He gave me a funny look, but laid the paintings out on the white bed sheets. There were four, which made the large one outside five in total. The first one was a self portrait of Sasuke looking fairly young, around ten or so. The second was a view--the view from this bedroom window--of a hilltop and a single cherry blossom tree swaying gently in the wind. The third depicted a few figures playing in the abandoned park down the road--I recognized our friends Kiba, Shikamaru, and Chouji among the group. The fourth _appeared_ to be a landscape of the surrounding forest at night, but it _looked_ like another place entirely; somewhere far away, perhaps where the fifth paining that lay drying outside had come from. And each of them had been at least ten times better than the one before it.

"I had more, but, after my brother…"

He caught himself midway through the sudden statement, but it was already tangible, hanging in the air between us like some dead weight. He turned his head away, and I knew instantly that he was crying. I don't know how I did, but I knew, and I turned my head in the opposite direction to try and give him some form of privacy. He took only a minute. Maybe he was a little sick of crying all the time, like I was…

"They were lost. So, I had no inspiration to do this for a while. And then, when I went to the academy, it was like…I started seeing things for the first time in a long time."

"That explains these three," I gestured to the left. "But what about this one? And the big one outside? They're so different from…from anything real I've ever seen."

This took him a bit longer to answer. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. _Nervously?_ "I painted those from my dreams."

"…" I stared at him. This was like a Sasuke I'd never known before. It was a little scary and a lot exciting. Like getting to know a twin or something. I looked from the fourth painting to him for what seemed like a long time. Then, I opened my mouth: "If I had dreams like this, I'd be asleep all the time."

For the world, it sounded so dumb. But Sasuke just looked at me and smiled. He _smiled_. I will say it again: today was turning out to be a very strange day.

"Yeah. But I like this place too."

"Oh?" I pulled my hands from my pockets and crossed my arms over my chest. "You? Mr. I'm-So-Much-Better-Than-Everyone?"

He scowled: "Oh, shut up, Naruto."

"No, really," I nudged him with my shoulder. "What's so good about being here? I mean, in dreams you see those kinds of places and you get to be with people you want to be with, and--"

"I'm already with someone I want to be with," he murmured and I almost didn't hear it. I stopped breathing, I think, for a minute or two. Before my mouth could catch up with my brain though, his black-amber eyes found mine and pinned me down, shutting me up quite efficiently. "This is my home. No matter what happens and where I go or what I do, this is the place I want to come back to. Even if I have no one to welcome me back--"

"Oh, shut up, Sasuke." I scowled back. "Even though you're a bastard, I'm here, you know."

There was a moment of silence.  
"You're--"

"I'll welcome you back," I shrugged. "Whether you like it or not."

And, today was a day for miracles, Sasuke smiled at me again. Or grinned, rather. "Maybe one of these days, I can paint something for you."

"You're not afraid I won't tell anyone about this?"

"Not unless I thought you liked pain."

"Got it. And…thanks."

"I should be thanking _you_, _dobe._"

"…I let you get away with that once today, don't push it."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes: **I've just realized… that besides the second short story in this collection, Naruto has always been the one "welcoming" Sasuke home from missions and surreal dreams and the like. It's never the other way around, and I assume that's just due to his character, so I guess I've portrayed them rather nicely? However, I think Sasuke showing weakness from time to time is actually rather sweet, so I'm going to try and have him "welcoming" Naruto for a little while. Sorry if that makes him seem out of character; it's just an experiment really, and if you guys don't like it, please say so, and I'll stop trying to approach their relationship from that angle. Also, chapter ten was rather vague in its reference to "welcoming home" (mentioned briefly by Iruka), so, I'm sorry I didn't quite make the point with that story. Some of them may not even have to do with that theme--these are all just random plots that come out of my head. Sorry again.

And this is the longest A/N I've ever written.

Anyway! I'm happy you're enjoying these, and your reviews make me happy, so we're good! I'll keep writing as long as someone keeps reading, deal? Thank you for your interest and your comments! And a special thanks to one particular reader, **KC Evans**: Your reviews are very encouraging and inspire me to continue this. I'm so glad I make these characters both likeable and believable for you. Thank you so much for your input and kind words.

* * *

The Rokudaime Hokage was very, _very_ tired. It had been a long day at the office again, as usual, and by the time he had managed to escape the confining walls of the official building, the street lamps had been lit and most of the shops were closed for the night. Ichiraku Ramen was no exception.

"Aw, man!" Uzumaki Naruto huffed and pushed his straw hat back off the top of his head, scratching his mop of tangled blond spikes. "And I was looking forward to a hot meal…" The truth was, he hadn't eaten breakfast at all (he had been running late), skipped lunch entirely (he had entirely too much paperwork to get done), and had planned to be out in time for dinner, but that plan had fallen through thanks to the emergency meeting his Anbu Squad had called nearly _three hours ago_. Sighing, Naruto pulled the hat back up to cover his disappointed eyes and trudged toward his apartment. His plan at this point was to sit in the bath for a good long soak and then crawl into bed and sleep early so this 'coming in late' thing didn't happen again. They frowned upon that in the office, even if you were the leader of the whole entire village. _Especially_ if you're the leader of the whole entire village. It made you look bad, he supposed as he dug for his keys in the pocket of his long white robes. He had an image to uphold, or was it a reputation he needed to protect? Or even, an example he had to set for the younger generation? He sighed: he didn't even know anymore. And he couldn't find his keys.

"Perfect," he grumbled as he climbed the stairs that led to the apartment. He had to break the door in now, which meant a snapped lock, which meant calling someone in to repair it, which meant people spreading rumors about his "temper" and how that was bad for a hokage to have. Even though he was already officially in the position of Rokudaime Hokage, they still looked down on him, waiting for him to screw up somewhere so they could toss him out. _So hard to achieve, so easy to lose._ He looked up at his door.

The porch light was on.

Blinking, Naruto tried to recall if he had left it on from the night before and couldn't. The lights were on inside too, shining through the small side window and the cracks between the top, bottom, and sides of the doorframe. Tentatively, he reached for the doorknob, and found himself doubly confused as it opened easily. Had someone stolen his keys and entered his apartment? Naruto slipped a long-bladed kunai from the weapon holster on his thigh and entered the foyer, shutting the door quietly behind him. He scanned his eyes around the apartment, taking inventory of his possessions and searching for tell-tale chakras in the vicinity. Everything seemed to be in its proper place. As for chakras, there was someone in his kitchen. _In the kitchen? A hungry burglar?_ Naruto didn't even have the energy to contemplate this. He was tired, hungry, and wanted to kick the hell out of whoever was in his house right now so he could take his bath and sleep. He gingerly poked his head through the kitchen entryway and stared.

The figure wearing the dark green jounin vest with the red spiral embroidered on the center of its back stood over the stove, pulling a frying pan off one of the burners. The smell of well-cooked meat attacked Naruto's nostrils and he positively drooled. His stomach responded with a very loud, whining growl, and the figure turned, one hand on the pan handle, and the other holding a cooking fork.

"Ah, you're finally back," Uchiha Sasuke lifted an eyebrow at the hokage. "Welcome home."

He turned back to the stove, moving the pan to one side and setting it on top of a plate to cool, where there were a few other used bowls and plates sat slightly stacked. Then he crossed to the refrigerator, yanked it open, and rummaged inside for something; found it, closed the door, shuffled over to the sink, reached up to the cabinets, pulled out two glasses, and turned back to Naruto, who hadn't moved at all and was watching the black-haired man's movements in frozen disbelief.

"Naruto?" he put the glasses and the wine bottle (the thing he had grabbed from the refrigerator) on the dining table and came over to the blond in the doorway. "Are you feeling alright?"

Naruto wanted to say that he _wasn't_ alright, he was dead. This had to be the afterlife, where things you thought about all the time but never happened actually _did _happen. He opened his mouth, desperately wanting to tell Sasuke just that, and to demand an explanation (how he had died would have been good for starters), but what finally came out was totally different.

"How'd you get in?" he asked the other man.

Sasuke held up Naruto's house keys. "You dropped them on your front porch. I came by in the afternoon and your neighbor gave them to me. I let myself in. Sorry if I shouldn't have," he added as an afterthought. Naruto tried to get this straight in his head--he wasn't dead after all, and that was good, but, that meant that Sasuke was just…not acting like Sasuke.

"And…you've been here all day?" Again, not what he wanted to say.

"Pretty much," the other shinobi nodded and reached up with his free hand, pushing the straw hat with the hokage insignia off his head. "Have you eaten today? You got in really late, I noticed." Baffled, all Naruto could do was shake his head, and Sasuke made a face. "That's not good. Here, go change while I get dinner on the table." He nudged Naruto out of his own kitchen. "Go on."

Naruto went without a word, undoing the clasp on his white robes while pondering what the hell had just happened. _Sasuke house-sat for me all day long, cooked _dinner_, and is being…nice. Is there something going on that I'm not aware of?_ He threw his robes in a pile on the chair by the bedroom door and yanked his own dark green vest up over his head, breathing deeply for the first time all day. Whatever was going on, Sasuke was definitely acting odd. It wasn't the fact that he'd never do anything like this that was bothering Naruto, it was the fact that Sasuke was doing this _for him_ and that in itself was strange enough. Kicking off his shoes, Naruto decided this was as comfortable as he was going to get until he got to the bottom of this, and went back out into the main hall, moving faster when the smell of Sasuke's dinner hit his nostrils again. The aforementioned man was sitting at the dining table, two plates piled with food set down, one in front of him and the other before a vacant spot right next to him. Naruto took this seat as Sasuke reached over and uncorked the wine bottle that Naruto suddenly realized had never been in his refrigerator before tonight, and poured it into the two waiting glasses, then capped it again. He slid one of the glasses over to Naruto and picked his up, sipping at the dark liquid with a thoughtful look on his face. The blond didn't touch his, he just waited.

Sasuke licked his lips and put the cup down, leaning back in his chair and looking over at the other man. "Well?" he motioned toward the food.

"Sasuke…" Naruto said doubtfully, "I…what…" He sighed. "Okay, I give up. What's going on here?"

"What's going on where?" the dark-haired ninja gave his friend an innocent-looking pout, which just sent Naruto into another helpless flail for sense.

"You watched my house all day--"

"Someone could have taken advantage of the situation and cleaned you out."

"Right, but, you cooked me dinner--"

"I figured you'd be hungry after staying at the office so long, and besides, I got hungry waiting for you to get home."

"Sasuke…" Naruto put a hand to his head and looked at the other man with tired blue eyes. "What's up?"

The Uchiha lost the playful grin that had been gracing his lips and Naruto felt a brief pang of loss for the good mood the other man had been in. He picked up his fork and slowly fiddled with the food on the plate before he answered the question: "I wanted to spend some time with you today."

"That's it?" Naruto almost laughed. "I thought you were going to, like, confess your love for me or something…"

"And if I was?" those piercing black eyes found his and that almost-laughter was choked off at the source.

"I…" Naruto felt himself start to blush. Sasuke shook his head and motioned for Naruto to start eating as he did just that. Naruto did, feeling like absolute crap, but the moment Sasuke's dinner was in his mouth, he forgot everything. "Oh!" he gulped down the forkful of food he'd put in his mouth. "Oh wow! Sasuke, this is really good!"

"Is it?" he asked noncommittally, but Naruto didn't hear the soft smile that curved the corners of his mouth upward slightly. He was too busy trying to eat the entire plate all at once. They didn't talk after that, even when Naruto ate everything and started to get up to put his plate in the sink. Sasuke laid a hand on his shoulder, got up, and refilled the blonde's plate with seconds. Naruto beamed up at him and ate happily.

Finally, when the food was all gone and the air of uneasiness had faded as they delved into the wine Sasuke had brought for "no reason", the two friends moved out of the kitchen and sat facing each other on the long couch in the living room.

"So, Sasuke," Naruto tossed back the last gulp of his wine and Sasuke wordlessly refilled the glass, "about that 'love confession' thing…"

"Relax, _dobe_," he sipped his own drink. "That isn't why I'm here."

"Oh." Naruto couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. Wait, what? "Then, why did you want to be together today specifically, out of all other days? Did something important happen?"

"You could say that," Sasuke leaned back against the arm of the couch and ran a hand back through his hair. "I just, kind of wanted to welcome you home today more than any other day, really."

"Maybe this is a love confession after all," Naruto grinned and was rewarded with a slight tinge of red that flared momentarily on Sasuke's cheeks.

"It's…" he took a deep breath, suddenly avoiding Naruto's eyes. "You welcomed me back that one time, so, I thought… I don't know," he concluded with a grimace and swallowed the rest of his wine in one gulp. As he refilled his cup, Naruto watched him. _Welcomed him back 'that one time'? What does he mean?_

"What one--" And suddenly it hit him, wiping away any hint of a drunken state he could have possibly reached by drinking half a bottle of wine in one sitting. "Sasuke."

"It's dumb, huh?" the raven-haired jounin laughed bitterly and stared down at his glass. "I knew you'd forgotten--"

"I didn't forget," Naruto answered instantly, forcing Sasuke to look up at him with the tone he had used.

"So then, you know why I…"

"Yeah. I get it now."

Their eyes fell to their own drinks. There was a silence. Then:

"So, yeah. I just wanted to welcome you home."

Naruto put his glass down on the coffee table beside them. He reached over, placing one hand on the head of the couch and the other on the seat by Sasuke's leg, effectively trapping him there. Sasuke blinked, startled. Naruto looked into his eyes sternly, letting the tension in the air thicken with each passing moment of silence. Sasuke opened his mouth, perhaps to tell Naruto to get off, perhaps to ask him what the hell he was thinking, or maybe if he was drunk. Whatever it was going to be, he never said it: Naruto kissed him. Before he could react though, the blond was drawing back, the grin on his scarred face so wide it made his eyes slit closed.

"You're such an idiot, it's cute," he laughed. "But you don't need to thank me for doing what I wanted to do anyway. I told you, Sasuke, I'd always welcome you home, no matter what." The grin slipped a bit, letting his blue eyes open to gaze upon this person, the most important person in his life: "Thank you. Thank you for being here to welcome me home too."


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes: **It's funny how I punch stories out in sporadic bursts. You know, update update update, don't write for a month, update some more. I hope that doesn't bother anyone. Also, I've been thinking of illustrating these shorts into some type of epic chapter doujinshi or something of the like, and I wanted to know if that would be a good idea. Could you all help with some input on that thought? Thank you.

* * *

They were walking back to Naruto's house. A chill hung in the late-evening air, plumes of hot breath rising from their mouths as they trekked through ankle-deep snow. They were being quiet, mostly to conserve energy, but also because this time of day just made one feel like they _had_ to be quiet. And they were enjoying each other's company, so that was nice too.

"You know what?" Naruto spoke up thoughtfully as his apartment building came into view.

"Nn?" Sasuke didn't bother looking up from his chakra concentration; he was manipulating it so he could stay above the piles of snow.

"It's actually…kind of--ahh!--depressing…" his companion on the other hand, wasn't bothering with chakra manipulation, and was stumbling through the cold whiteness as he tried to speak.

"What?" the dark-haired jounin had learned to keep talk to a minimum in situations like these.

"Walking home and…gah!" The blond had not learned his lesson, apparently, "and know--eek!--ing," Sasuke rolled his eyes, "that no one will be!" He fell face-first in a snowdrift on the side of the road. His friend helped him up, and Naruto sputtered, wiping snow out of his eyes.

"Now, finish that without falling on your face," the taller man said with a grin.

Naruto stuck out his tongue then looked back to the dark apartment. "I was trying to say," his gaze softened, "that it's depressing to go home knowing no one's there to welcome you back." He closed his eyes, listening to the slight shifting noises Sasuke was making as he moved closer.

"Oi, _dobe_…"

"Hmm?" he opened his eyes and cried out in surprise as a huge, ice-cold ball of snow smacked him in the face with a sharp _plop!_ "ACK! SASUKE!" Naruto scrubbed the snow from his face and glared, but the person who had thrown it was long-gone. With a blink and then a downhearted sigh, the blond continued on alone to his apartment. "Stupid Sasuke…" he mumbled, rubbing his cheeks harshly to warm them. "He never listens to me." Naruto reached for the doorknob.

The door opened. "Welcome home, Naruto," Sasuke said.

They stared at one another for a long moment.

"How did you…?" Naruto lifted an eyebrow.

"The window," Sasuke shrugged. That's when he saw the glass on the floor.

"You bastard!"

"What? You said it was depressing not to be welcomed home, so, I fixed that for you."

"Yeah, but now you have to fix my window too!"

"Don't push your luck."

"But _you_ broke it!"

"Ah, relax," Sasuke pulled him inside and closed the door. "I'll fix the window."

"Did you _have_ to break the window?" Naruto groaned.

"I can't win with you, can I?"

"That's not the point, Sasuke! _You_ _broke my window!_"

"Is that all that's important to you?"

"Well, no…" the blond admitted, grinning suddenly. "It's just a window, anyway. What's important is why it was done, right?"

Sasuke shook his head and grinned back. "Yeah. Sorry anyway."

"Thank you," Naruto's grin turned into a soft smile. "Even if you broke my window."

"…can we just get over the window thing already?"

The blond laughed, and after a moment, he did too.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes: **Procrastination in certain areas promotes an abundance of productivity in others, I've learned tonight. Thank you for reading and responding so fast! I promise, I'll stop for today after this. It's a little strange, but I couldn't get the "bite my tongue" thing out of my head, so I had to put it in here. This drabble's so vague, it can be from Naruto _or_ Sasuke's point of view, so, choose whichever one you'd like. Enjoy.

* * *

He could still remember the state the apartment had been in: the broken doorframe, the overturned furniture, the cold, _empty_ feeling lingering in the halls. But the real clue that something was definitely wrong was when his partner didn't welcome him home. Despite the damage, he had figured that the other would have at least come out and grumbled some sort of greeting while complaining about burglars or prankster kids or something to that extent. The fact that he didn't come out _at all_ sent up little alarms and within five minutes of inspecting the place, he had the answer.

_Don't do anything stupid_, he willed silently, jumping down from the collection of trees and moving seamlessly into a full-out run, head down, leaning over, arms and legs pumping but still aware of his surroundings. He couldn't get caught off guard here; there'd be no hope for either of them if that happened. No one else knew where he had gone, or had an idea where the abductors had taken his partner, and he preferred it that way. No unnecessary involvement--this was all his fault, and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to fix it on his own. Besides…

* * *

"_Being an Anbu… it's dangerous, isn't it?"_

"_Yeah… But I'll be okay, as long as you're here when I come back."

* * *

_

It wasn't outright, but he had promised: he had promised nothing would happen to either of them. He swore to himself that he'd be strong enough to protect them both, so that they wouldn't have to worry about something like this happening. But he had slipped in his duty, in his job, and now the price was so high, it made him sick to think about. _You have to be alright. If you're not, I… I don't know--_

He'd die. It was as simple as that. If anything happened to his lover, the person he held most dear, the one he treasured above all and everything, he'd die. From heartbreak or by his own hand, it didn't matter. What did matter is that it _did not come to that.

* * *

_

"_When you're gone for so long…I get so sad. It's like I'm not alive when you're not around…"_

"_I promise you, I'll try to be as quick as I can on these missions. But, if I mess up somehow--"_

"_You won't mess up. I have faith in you--even if something happens, you'll fix it. I know you will."_

"_But, you know that if I--"

* * *

_

Tears came to his eyes, both from the memory and the sting of the wind that swept his hair back and pressed the cold porcelain mask hard against his face. This damn mask, that had caused him so much trouble. Had caused _them_ so much trouble. He had talked about it with the other; what that mask meant, along with the black and white uniform.

* * *

"_If I die, I want you to--"_

"_I'll follow you."_

"_No, you can't--"_

"_If I can't welcome you back home, then there's no point in me living, is there?"_

"…_Don't make me resort to tying you to the bed each time I have to leave."_

"_I'll bite off my tongue and drown in my own blood."

* * *

_

He saw the hideout, saw the guards coming out to intercept him, and pulled out two swords: his lover's and his own. _I'll save you_, he swore with the first swing of his weapons, _and then we'll go back home together. _Even if he died in his efforts, even if he couldn't reach his partner in time, he would keep this promise: dead or alive, they'd go together.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes: **Well, my original intention was to have the last story written from Sasuke's P.O.V., but I figured it came out better when I didn't specify who was talking and let the reader think of which boy was in which situation. It came out fairly nice, in my opinion. :D So, yay for new readers and new comments! And huzzah to everyone that's just following me along in this…strangeness. Heehee. I found a bunch of old comics I had sketched last year (which is actually where the basis for this collection came from) and found one unfinished one, so, here it is (yes, I'm aware this one's a little dumb...).

* * *

Hyuuga Hinata knocked softly on the huge oak door. "Hokage-sama?" she called timidly. 

"Sasu--nn…!"

"Shh."

"Hokage-sama?" she blushed, images of what was happening behind the door invading her mind. "The Kazekage is here to see you…" Hinata glanced back at the man with the large tan gourd strapped to his back.

"Dammit!"

"Agh! Don't sit up like that, _dobe_!"

She blushed even harder and turned, bowing apologetically to the red-haired leader of the Sand Village.

"It seems that the hokage is busy at the moment…" she squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting the temptation of activating the Byakugan and seeing exactly what was going on in there.

"Hn," Gaara shook his head and waited for the doors to open.

* * *

"Ahh…ah! Sa-Sasuke!" 

"Oh come on, you asked for this."

"But…it's so…tight!" the blond wailed.

"Fine, you baby," Uchiha Sasuke rolled his eyes and stopped massaging his boyfriend's shoulders. "That's the last time I'll do you a favor."

"Can't you just rub a little _softer_ or something?" Uzumaki Naruto winced, gingerly rubbing the line of his shoulder.

_Knock knock knock!_ "H-Hokage-sama, are you…done? The Kazekage is waiting out here for you…"

"Done?" Sasuke raised an amused eyebrow. "What does she think you were doing in here?"

"Hinata…" he grumbled, placing a hand to his head. "Sasuke, I'll be home late tonight."

"How late?" the raven-haired man in the jounin outfit picked up the hat inscribed with the Hokage's insignia from the desk and handed it to his partner. The blond took it, fitting it onto his head while he estimated the meeting time in his head.

"I dunno," he finally shrugged. "Late." Sasuke face-faulted. "Well, I don't know what Gaara wanted to talk about!"

"You didn't bother to ask, did you?"

"…no."

Sasuke sighed: "Alright, then, I'll just grab some take-out and we can heat it up later."

"Thanks, Sasuke," Naruto smiled up at him and began pulling the white robes back onto his shoulders. Sasuke watched this for a moment, then quickly leaned down and flicked his tongue out, catching the curve of Naruto's ear. The suddenness of the action left the blond stunned as his lover sucked on the lightly tanned flesh of his earlobe, evicting a sharp intake of breath from the hokage. Then Sasuke pulled away and strode toward the huge door.

"Prepare to be welcomed home properly tonight," he tossed a wave over his shoulder and left his flustered boyfriend's office.

* * *

Hinata jumped in her seat as the door opened with a soft _whoosh_ and Uchiha Sasuke came out, practically _strutting_. She blushed and averted her eyes. Gaara stood and nodded at the exiting jounin, who actually gave him a parting grin as he left the office. The red-head shrugged to himself and went into his friend's office, where he saw the blond sitting stiffly in his chair, his usually easy-going face drawn up tight in a hard blush. He gave Naruto the benefit of the doubt. 

"Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah…" the sixth hokage said weakly and Gaara raised an unconvinced eyebrow.

* * *

Sasuke chuckled as he left Ichiraku Ramen, a take-out bag in one hand. He couldn't wait to "welcome" Naruto home. 


	17. Chapter 17, part 1

"It's a severe level of chakra poisoning," the pink-haired medical ninja sighed, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind her.

"Chakra poisoning?" Inuzuka Kiba blinked, confused. "What's that?"

"You really don't know?" Nara Shikamaru looked over at his fellow chunin. "How troublesome…"

"Oh, shut up, Shikamaru!" Kiab growled.

"It's a special jitsu straight out of the forbidden arts scrolls that were confiscated from the Sound country," Aburame Shino spoke calmly, trying to stop his teammate from escalating an already-tense situation. "One Orochimaru wrote himself and taught his upper-level subordinates, apparently."

"So then, was it _him_ that…?" Kiba gestured helplessly toward the door behind him.

"No." Haruno Sakura spoke up firmly, shaking her head and making her short pink hair bob around the line of her set jaw. "He says it was a survivor of Orochimaru's ranks, aiming for all of you."

"And Naruto took it all in one hit?" Shikamaru's usually impassive face slipped into one of shock.

"A poisoning jitsu meant for six people," Akimichi Chouji mused softly, actually not eating for once.

"I, for one, am not inclined to believe that traitor," Hyuuga Neji stepped forward a bit and crossed his arms over his chest, almost daring the woman to challenge his words. She rose to the fight swiftly, her teal eyes flashing dangerously.

"Sasuke says that he was passed out for most of the battle, and woke up only in time to see the survivor and kill him," she repeated her old teammate's testimony, word for word. "But, by the time he could move, the jitsu had already been performed." Neji snorted and Sakura bristled. Shikamaru, sensing the tension, sighed and held up his hands.

"Alright, alright, just calm down," he shook his head, his eyes sliding over to the taller man's: "Look, Neji, it's not our place to judge Sasuke. _We_ weren't the ones directly betrayed; _they_ were," he turned his head to Sakura, "so it's really _their_ decision whether or not to believe him."

Neji merely shrugged and turned away from the confrontation, arms crossing over his chest. "I don't really care either way."

Sakura opened her mouth to snap at him again and Shikamaru turned pleadingly to the others, looking highly exasperated. Chouji saw the expression on his friend's face and interrupted her, trying to switch the topic as much as he possibly could without being insensitive.

"Sakura, I still don't understand. What exactly is chakra poisoning?" he asked.

Her anger switched rather abruptly to something resembling helplessness, turning to him and the others to explain: "It's caused by a rather complex jitsu, and essentially uses 'anti-chakra'--for lack of a better term--to flood the victim's body and render their own chakra useless."

"What are the symptoms?" Shino asked out of blatant curiosity, hidden from the others by his mirrored sunglasses.

"Unconsciousness lasting up to several weeks," she counted on her fingers, her voice growing shakier with each example, "stopping up of chakra flow, temporary or even life-long paralysis of the central nervous system, and in extended periods or cases of high exposure… Death."

That's when she broke down and started to cry.

* * *

The figure beside the bed had not moved in over nine hours. He had watched impassively as his old comrade had to be dragged from the room screaming and thrashing, insisting that she could remove all the poison from their friend's body. He had not flinched when the other members of his "rescue" party had assaulted him with questions and accusations and heated looks. He had ignored the staff member who came in and told him visiting hours were over, and when the man had threatened to call security Uchiha Sasuke had finally raised his eyes from their blank gaze at the figure on the hospital bed and stared at him, _through_ him. He had not been bothered after that. The ex-runaway stared at his once-best friend lying limply on the harsh white sheets, showing no sign of life except for the painfully slow rise and fall of a heavily-bandaged chest. His laced fingers, which had propped up his chin, now came undone and ran up through his dirty, tangled hair knotted with dried sweat and blood. He sighed deeply, as if exhaling his disbelief and sucked in breath like he was trying to inhale the truth. It was hard, to have a past that followed you everywhere--and for once, Sasuke wasn't thinking about his brother.

_Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

_

Naruto had followed him as he abandoned all hope and principles not once, not twice, but _three times_ in attempts to bring him back, to convince him to come home. And this time, finally, Sasuke had had no choice. He could only remember snippets before he had awoken in the abandoned courtyard of Orochimaru's headquarters, looking up at the legs of the _same_ five that attempted to bring him back the first time: Shikamaru shouted orders from directly in front of Sasuke's sprawled figure as he manipulated seemingly endless streamers of his shadow to entrap the oncoming assailants; Chouji was pushing back a wave of them with an incredibly thick, solid _wall_ of chakra; Kiba and a huge white animal that he thought could possibly be Akamaru were ripping through the ranks with razor sharp claws and fangs; Neji flitted through the Sound ranks, finding chakra and pressure points with impressive ease, knocking them instantly unconscious. And there had been at least _a thousand_ black-and-orange-clad Narutos spilling out across the grounds, pummeling, tripping, kicking, clawing, their eyes all glowing a terrifying blood-lust red as the opposing ninjas fell against their combined wrath. At first, all Sasuke could manage to do was blink in astonishment; he had been in the lower chambers of the laboratory, held in a cell against his will to be Orochimaru's test bitch at any minute, and Kabuto (that rat bastard) had come in and performed some sort of jitsu on him, and even though he tried to counter it…

_What is going _on_ here? _was all he could manage to think as he blinked incoherently at the battle taking place before him: a handful against a country. All he could _do _was stare in wonder.

And then, it was over. The bunshin disappeared, leaving only one _very_ haggard-looking Naruto panting within a circle of bodies, covered in blood and sweat and dirt and bruises, but smiling. _Grinning_, even. And he raised one arm in victory. But Sasuke saw behind him, saw the survivor, saw the seals flashing in his hands and _oh god_.

_Naruto!_ he tried to scream, tried to leap to his feet and shove the blond idiot aside just like before…and then, thankfully, Shikamaru saw him too.

"Everyone MOVE!" he had never heard the lazy ninja ever sound so urgent. "It's going to break and come at us individually! _Don't get hit!_"

He disappeared. Sasuke caught a glimpse of Chouji, Kiba, and Neji dashing out of range. He still couldn't move. Naruto had turned, saw the attack, and rounded about, trying to escape, when he caught Sasuke's eyes.

* * *

Sasuke shivered, dropping his hands and looking down at the closed eyes. He had never been stared at so…_intensely_. So loudly. He had never received a look like that before, from his parents, his brother, the girls that always claimed to be in love with him, Orochimaru…and at the same time, Sasuke saw every one of those inside that stare: the pain, the confusion, the sense of being lost, and _so much love_ _it hurt.

* * *

_

Naruto had pivoted mid-run, heading now for the jistu user. He had dove, tackling the caster, knocking him into the trees, and Sasuke had heard the solid _thwack_ as the jitsu struck a target and someone's head hit a tree and suddenly he was up. He was awake, he could move, and he _did_ move; he teleported to where Naruto and the Sound nin were laying in a heap, took the bleary-looking man's head in one hand and flicked his wrist, smiling bitterly at the audible _snap_ that echoed in the trees. Then, even as the body was still falling, he had knelt swiftly and checked Naruto for any sign of damage the jitsu had done. He knew this one--Orochimaru had taught it to him himself. The crimson spiral seal on the blond's stomach was pulsing eerily. Something was wrong. Sasuke lifted him in his arms, turned in the direction of the Fire Valley and Konoha, and started walking back.

Naruto had not woken up since.

* * *

"Naruto…" Sasuke's voice cracked dryly and he swallowed thickly, wincing as his parched throat ached in protest of talking. "Naruto, wake up." He hadn't been expecting a response, but nonetheless, the silence made him suddenly angry. He grabbed the blond's shoulders abruptly, knocking over the vase of flowers that had been standing on the bedside table, from Yamanaka Ino. "Naruto!" He shook the other man roughly. "Get up now! I'm not kidding around! _Naruto!_"

And there was no response. Naruto's head lolled back and forth, making a slight whistling sound from his slightly-parted lips as his breathed in and out slowly buy steadily. If that changed…. If it became less and less steady…

"Fuck," Sasuke spat and relaxed his hold on Naruto's shoulders. "Fuck…" his tone changed from anger to sadness, and he lay his head down against the blonde's chest, one ear pressed over the area where his heart was. _Thump…thump. Thump…thump. _"Come back, Naruto," he murmured, not even aware he was speaking now. He wasn't aware of the tears that welled up in the corners of his eyes either, even when they began pouring down across his face. He closed the forever-accursed Sharingan orbs and whimpered into the empty room, the only person who would care or would help, dying beneath him.

"I didn't want this…not for you… I-I wanted…to come back, and have you welcome me home, you idiot…" He squeezed his eyes shut and reaffirmed his tight grip on Naruto's unresponsive shoulders. "You hear me? _Dobe!_ Don't die on me, _usuratonkachi!_ Understand? God dammit, Naruto _don't die!_ You have to welcome me back home _you can't die now! Not when I've come back! NARUTO!_"


	18. Chapter 18, part 2

**Notes: **Eheh. I think if I don't write a second part to the previous chapter, I'll get hurt, so, here it is by popular demand. I'll re-label the chapters to specify that this drabble is in two parts.

* * *

It was a coma now.

The Godaime Hokage leaned back from her inspection of the young man in the hospital bed and reached up with a bandaged to brush her bangs from her hard hazel eyes.

"Tsunande-sama?" her student's voice was cracked and worried and strained, but _hopeful_. "Is there any change in his condition?"

_You could say it that way,_ the older woman grimaced and turned to the pink-haired girl. "…It's safe to say the poison is moving very slowly, seeing as it's been nearly a month and his condition has just now started to change." Sakura's teal eyes widened. "At this rate, I can't give a definite calculation, but Naruto should hold up pretty strongly against it for a while."

"A while?" Iruka spoke up softly from his corner of the room. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, his sad brown eyes never leaving his former student's face even as he addressed the hokage. "Please, Tsunande-sama, estimate. How long--" _does he have left?_

"A year, at most," she sighed, standing with some difficulty. Her injuries from the battle against her former teammate still had yet to heal completely; he may have been gone, but it wasn't as if he'd let himself be forgotten.

_A tainted prodigy that is a vessel for all your secrets , two of your former comrades lucky to be alive, and the next one in line for title of hokage in a poison-induced coma. You left no holes to slip through, Orochimaru._

"It'll take him that long to recover?" Sakura yelped, her strained mind misinterpreting her teacher's words. Tsunande shook her head and spoke slowly, as if trying to comfort a scared child.

"That's how long he's got to live, Sakura," she explained softly, "unless we find a counter-jitsu for the anti-chakra."

The younger woman blinked, as if she had misheard the hokage. Then she began shaking her head. "No," she said sternly. "I refuse to believe that."

"Jiraya, Kakashi, and a few others are reviewing the scrolls confiscated from Orochimaru's labs for some sort of cure--"

"He's not going to die!"

"Sakura…" Iruka tried to cut in.

"No! Naruto would never allow himself to die from something as pathetic as this!" she stomped her foot, hot tears rolling down her cheeks now. "He has a dream! He wanted to be the next hokage! He's so close! He _won't_ die from this! Right, Sasuke?"

The brooding ninja in the chair directly across from her said nothing and gave no sign that he had heard her speaking, or any of them for that matter. He had his hands locked together and his thin mouth pressed against his thumbs, his elbows on his knees, his eyes dark and sharp on the blond man's face. She looked helplessly at him, then back to the unmoving figure on the bed, whimpered as more tears came to her eyes and she ran from the room as she started to sob. Tsunande bit her lip and looked to Naruto's lax face, then glanced up at Sasuke's impassive one.

"Iruka," she turned her eyes to the man in the corner. "I have to return to the office to help Jiraiya and Kakashi search for that cure. Please, go look after Sakura." He opened his mouth to protest and she stared him down, the grim look on her face saying it all: "He's not going anywhere. You can come back tomorrow."

Iruka winced and took a last look at Naruto, then nodded and went out. Tsunande started to follow, but stopped at the door and half-turned, so the black-haired man could see her face as she addressed him.

"I know he forgives you, and that's reason enough to let you back into the village," she spoke slowly, as if choosing her words carefully. "But if he dies, I will hold you personally responsible, and the hate-filled faces of the people of Konoha will be the least of your worries, I assure you." She left the room, closing the door behind her.

* * *

Sasuke hadn't moved since the first night in the hospital when he had cried. He hadn't ate, or slept, or spoken a word to anyone, whether they were addressing him or not. He didn't care about them, or anything else, so only half of Tsunande's threat remained in his head the rest of the day: _"If he dies, I will hold you personally responsible…"_

"It is my fault, isn't it?" Funny, how he wouldn't say a word when there were multiple people in the room visiting the blond, but alone at night, it seemed that he _had_ to talk, because somehow, Naruto was still listening. Sasuke shook his head and shifted out of the position he had been in all day, flexing sore muscles that screamed in protest and which he ignored. He reached over hesitantly and lay a pale hand on one of Naruto's lying above the sheets. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen to you," he continued, speaking in a sudden rush. "In fact, I left all those years ago because I _didn't_ want you to be hurt. I thought if I left, I wouldn't have to follow the path my brother took and I could find another way to obtain the power to defeat him. I didn't think you would follow me so far, I didn't…" His voice cracked; he ignored it. "I didn't think you wanted me by your side that badly. If I had known, if I had just tried to understand a little more, then you wouldn't be…you wouldn't be…"

And he felt it, but it didn't register right away. He blinked and looked down at the hand that was laying atop Naruto's fist. Clenched fist. _Shaking_ fist.

"Na…?" Sasuke couldn't get the rest of it out, he could only stare down at the trembling fist beneath his palm that suddenly relaxed and became what it had been just a few seconds before. "No!" He seized the limp hand convulsively, his voice rasping hoarsely in protest. "Again! Naruto, come back! You did it! You fought it! _Do it again!_" But it didn't happen. Sasuke gritted his teeth and lifted himself onto the hospital bed, his free hand gripping Naruto's opposite one, his knees supporting him on either side of the blond's hips. He squeezed both hands harshly, hard enough for his own fingers to vibrate from the force. "Come on, you damned _usuratonkachi_! Again!" When he shouted the last word, his chakra unconsciously flared up in the sudden wave of anger and shot into the unresponsive hands. And they _twitched._

Sasuke thought for a long moment and then flexed his hands, slipping his fingers into Naruto's and clasping their palms together. He activated his Sharingan and flinched as his dead mentor's curse seal flared up as well, trying to latch onto the anger and transform it into hate. If there was a such thing as a mental backhand, Sasuke did it right then; the seal abruptly deactivated and Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut, shifting through the various medical jitsus he had seen Sakura and Tsunande use on Naruto in the past month. He recalled one instance when Sakura had to be physically stopped from an attempt at a chakra transfusion jitsu. He focused on that.

His dark blue chakra field flared into existence around his body. With his Sharingan he could faintly see the dull outline of Naruto's own chakra: bright orange. While Sasuke's aura extended a little over a foot from his body, Naruto's just barely covered his. Seeing the hand seals for the jitsu in his mind's eye, Sasuke replicated them easily and one-handed, feeling suddenly nauseous as two openings formed one in each palm and his chakra funneled into a spiral, boring into Naruto's cold hands. They were joined now, Sasuke's own lifeforce pouring into Naruto by their connected hands, and the black-haired shinobi swayed over the comatose figure and dropped his head onto the other man's shoulder, closing his eyes.

* * *

At first, Sasuke thought he had been suddenly exposed to a hailstorm at its highest peak. And when something grazed his bare arm, leaving a cut behind, he reasoned that it wasn't hail that was swirling about, but tiny shards of the sharpest glass. They were trying to cut into his flesh with their jagged edges, but he ignored it and searched for something, _any_thing that would tell him how to help Naruto before it was too late. He didn't know the counter-jitsu, and didn't believe there was one, so, this was their only chance. And if he died trying, so be it.

_Naruto, where are you?_ he kept feeling around in the hectic darkness, searching for something that would tell him how to help, where to find him. And dully, faintly, far off, there was a flicker of orange that sparked up through the whirling glass and wind.

_Sasuke…_

Clenching his jaw, Sasuke began to walk into the heart of the storm. The winds howled at his defiance and tried to shove him away from the light that was now steadily burning in that far-off distance. He let the glass slice him, he let the jitsu drain him, and he kept on moving, head down, hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched. The glass pieces got bigger and fiercer as he got closer to what he could now make out to be a figure sitting by themselves in the very center of this calamity, rocking back and forth as they hugged their knees to their chest.

_Naruto!_

He was ravaged. His hair was wind-swept and wild, his eyes were dull and dead. Sasuke ran toward that light, toward Naruto, for all he was worth. The chaotic storm slapped at him, screamed at him, but at the same time he reached a hand into that orange aura that somehow shielded Naruto from the worst of the storm and his own blue aura kicked into it eagerly, making it larger, pushing the darkness and insanity back and circle around them protectively. It swirled comfortably in a counter-rotation, humming softly. Naruto looked up at Sasuke, startled.

_Sasuke…?_

_I've come to bring you back,_ he grabbed onto that cold, trembling hand. _Time to go home, Naruto…

* * *

_

His blue eyes opened. Sasuke, panting harshly, dispelled the jitsu and collapsed onto Naruto with a grunt. Naruto yelped painfully and Sasuke tried to roll off of him, but he found he couldn't move. Before he could slip away into unconsciousness, he nuzzled into Naruto's neck slightly and murmured:

"Welcome home, Naruto."

* * *

Naruto tried to move but found he couldn't. The alien chakra still lingered in him, but would fade away by morning. The clean, gentle blue of Sasuke's life force raced through him, pushing away the darkness and death. He heard the whispered sentence before Sasuke relaxed completely against him, and smiled, drifting into a sleep which he knew he would awaken from tomorrow morning. And Sasuke would be awake too.

"Welcome home, Sasuke."


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes: **I'm sorry, I don't think I can stretch that story any longer without completely messing it up! As compensation, here's a NON-angst drabble! I'm so happy you all are liking these, though. Thank you for your comments!

* * *

_Have you ever dropped a pebble into a pond? Have you noticed how the water flares up and the ripples roll to the very edges of it? Even the smallest ripple makes a change in the water's surface, right?_

_So then, if I call myself the pond, would you be called the pebble?

* * *

_

"Oi, _usuratonkachi_, I'm hungry. Move it."

"Ooh, Sasuke-the-badass, admitting weakness."

"…it's not a weakness, I'm just _hungry_."

"Sure, the first thing you admit to is hunger, but just wait! You could start sobbing about being tired at any minute!"

"…I'm going to hit you if you keep that up."

"But you're so _hungry_, how can you even--ack!" _Splash!_ "Aw, man! You bastard!"

"I'm getting food without you."

"Hey, that's not fair! Sasuke! Come back, you asshole!"

* * *

_Ever since the beginning--since your annoyingly persistent personality fell into me--you've been making ripples within. The biggest ones made me move that one time in the Wave Country. I told you I didn't know why I had jumped in the way, and I still don't._

_But, I think I'm beginning to understand, finally.

* * *

_

"Hurry up, _dobe_."

"Hey! Shut up! It's _your_ fault I'm wet, alright?"

"What does being wet have to do with_ hurrying_?"

"You try being energetic in wet clothes, okay!"

"…you're not going to shut up about this, are you?"

"Hell no! I'm cold and I'm wet! …and now I'm hungry too."

"…you moron"

"Huh? Where are we going now? Dammit, Sasuke! Answer me for once!"

* * *

_The ripples have moved in me ever since, and infected me with you. One pebble to break through the wall I had created, and now I'm starting to tear it down myself. I'm not supposed to be this way. I'm not supposed to care about anyone or anything except avenging my family and restoring the clan, but…_

_How is it that we've come this far together?

* * *

_

"We're home!"

"…who the hell are you talking to?"

"The house!"

"…you kow, I always knew you were strange…"

"You never did that?"

"Who's going to answer, _dobe_?"

"Well…if I were--"

"…you were, what?"

"…nothing."

* * *

_You're a mystery to me. I want to get to know you more. I want to spend time with you and talk to you and become closer with you… I want to find out how you can infect me with these ripples each time you smile at me._

_I wonder if you feel the same…

* * *

_

"Here. The shower's down that way. I'll lend you some clothes."

"Oi, Sasuke?"

"It's getting late, and we have to wake up early for the mission tomorrow, and I'm not going to be late again because of you, so, you're spending the night here."

"…Sasuke?"

"I'll make dinner, just get in the damn shower."

"…about what I said earlier… I just, if I were here when you got back, I'd welcome you home…"

* * *

_Lets find out together. Now that you've created these ripples, I won't let you deny your responsibility. You and I are going to find out where this path is taking us. Even if we go through hell, even if it takes the rest of our lives, we can do it._

_I don't mind spending the rest of my life with you.

* * *

_

"…_usuratonkachi_."


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes: **It was requested that I try to do some more of the stories where Naruto and Sasuke have relationship problems. I also had a request for a love confession! Seriously, though, if anyone else has any requests at all on what they want to see here, please let me know. I'll try to get around to any and everything, okay? And I'm sorry if this one seems a little awkward; I really don't like it when these two fight.

* * *

Sasuke watched as the Kazekage from the Sand Village walked out of the hokage's office. The red-head noticed the glaring Anbu and gave him a satisfied smirk before heading past him and out the door of the building. Sasuke let his scowl show prominently on his pale face as he pushed open the heavy oak door. He did _not _like the way Gaara of the Sand had been showing up more and more frequently, and the hokage had been staying later and later at the office each time for "personal meetings" with him. It made Sasuke's stomach turn, actually. He had never thought to question their relationship, but now, with this…

Naruto looked up from his desk, which he was re-arranging papers on. At his entrance, the blond hastily grabbed a few of them and threw them in a desk-side drawer.

"Hi Sasuke," he looked up at his boyfriend sheepishly. That look, in Sasuke's mind, sealed it. He slapped his hands down on the top of the desk, glaring coldly into the suddenly-startled blue eyes. "S-Sasuke…?"

"What the hell is going on here?" he snarled, his shoulders hunched over, giving him an intimidating look. "Why is he here all the time?"

"Ah, well…" Naruto turned his eyes down to his desk and began shuffling papers around meaninglessly. "That's just…because, well, standard leader meetings of the different villages, you know," he cleared his throat. "It's just procedure."

"Procedure my _ass_," Sasuke spat, continuing to glare. "He's been here almost every day for three weeks now! It takes a full day of travel to get from here to the Sand country."

"Well, that's okay," Naruto was oblivious to Sasuke's reaction. "It needs to be done. The meetings, you know," he added that last part as an afterthought.

"Meetings, right," Sasuke straightened and crossed his arms over his chest. "That's all they are, hm? Just meetings about the villages."

"Ah…" Naruto averted his eyes again. "Yeah."

_Fuck this_, Sasuke thought and shoved his hands into his pockets. "You know, Naruto, if you're going to cheat on me like this, you could have some consideration and _try_ to be stealthy about it."

The Rokudaime Hokage's eyes grew huge, and he merely stared at the Anbu captain for a moment. Then: "C-Cheat on…you…?"

"What do you call this?" the taller man gestured back toward the door Garra had exited through earlier. "I didn't think about it until he started coming around more and more. How long has it been going on? Tell me."

He didn't flinch as Naruto threw his chair back with a loud scrape and rose slowly to his feet, his hair concealing his expression.

"You…" he growled softly.

"Are you going to deny it? How, Naruto?" Sasuke cut him off. "I know it's happening! You don't talk to me about work anymore; you're never home, you're always _here_ with _him_. How can I _not_ notice?"

Naruto turned his face upward, and Sasuke actually faltered. His eyes were _red_, not their usual open blue.

"You have gone entirely too far, Uchiha Sasuke," he spoke, but it came out more of a scathing hiss. "Get out. Now."

He paused, studying the blazing eyes and the slightly heaving chest. Then, he shrugged and turned to the door while inside, his mind screamed at him that this was all _wrong _and this had not been what he had intended to do…

"Fine." He reached for the door handle but it turned under his fingers and pulled away to reveal Shikamaru with a stack of reports in his hand.

"Oh," he blinked at the hokage's boyfriend, then over to the man behind the desk who had not moved. "Am I interrupting?"

"Not at all," Sasuke pushed past him. "Just be a bit more considerate when the Kazekage's around again; you might interrupt something." And he was gone.

* * *

Shikamaru looked after the Anbu with one eyebrow raised, then over to his boss, who was standing with his head lowered. His shoulders were shaking. Sighing and briefly thinking that these two were more trouble then they were worth, he closed the door behind him.

"…Hokage-sama, here are the records you requested."

* * *

Naruto had not come home. Sasuke didn't care--at least that's what he told himself. What he wouldn't admit is that he was sitting up by the window at some ungodly hour of the morning watching the path that led up to the apartment complex because he was worried. _Damn him. Now I can't sleep, I'm so pissed off._ He ignored the small, nagging feeling that was trying to point out something to his consciousness. _Tomorrow I'm just going to go into the office and ask for a transfer. Anywhere, I don't care, as long as it's not that office._ His subconscious stirred impatiently and he mentally swatted at it. He didn't care if part of him thought he had taken things a little too far, especially with that parting remark.

"…dammit," he got up and started dressing for work, even though he'd be three hours too early.

* * *

Shikamaru looked up from the front desk as Sasuke stomped in and he rolled his eyes, holding up a paper.

"You have a mission," he explained to the disgruntled Anbu. The raven-haired man snatched the paper from his fingers with a scowl and glanced it over. The dark look abruptly faded to one of confusion.

"What's this?" he looked down at the other man.

"Your mission," the lazy jounin lifted an eyebrow.

"It says I have to--"

"Take over the position of Rokudaime Hokage until the real hokage returns," Shikamaru nodded his head.

"W…hy?" Sasuke stared down at the mission statement again and the other man sighed, leaning forward with his elbows on the table.

"If you had let Naruto explain everything before you went and had your hissy fit," he was aware of the death glare turned in his direction but ignored it, "Gaara has been coming here to inform him of the current crisis in the Sand village."

"Crisis…?" Sasuke felt the sudden heat rush up his neck and to his face as he realized what was being said.

"Apparently, some ninjas left over from the Sound village have infiltrated Sand's defenses and are attempting to assassinate the Kazekage," Shikamaru sighed. "He's been hiding out here on the order of his council until Leaf can provide him with an adequate escort."

"Assassinate the--" Sasuke turned away from him and pushed open the door to the hokage's office, walking over to the desk as he slowly pieced things together in his head. He went around to the other side of it, opened the side drawer Naruto had fiddled with yesterday, and came out with three crumpled-looking papers. There was a small note written on the top one from Shikamaru to Naruto:

_I've calculated the success rate of this mission, given the current information we have, and selected the top three shinobi who are capable of succeeding, in order from highest to lowest._

Sasuke's record sheet was on top.

He blinked and shuffled through the other two papers which held the records of Kakashi (who was second) and Shikamaru himself (the third). Another note--he recognized the scrawled handwriting--was from the hokage back to his tactician: _Please look into the probability of a fourth recruit._

"He was fourth on the list," Shikamaru spoke up from the doorway. "When he found that out, he told me to write up your mission statement and left--"

"How long ago?"

"Early this morning. They should be halfway there by now…" _if they haven't run into trouble_.

"I'm going after him."

"What?" Shikamaru blinked. "Didn't you read the mission sta--"

"I read the damn paper and I don't care," Sasuke snapped and whirled around, striding out of the office. "I'm going after them."

"Sasuke, listen," the jounin caught his arm and stopped him with a speed that was unlike his usual lethargic movement. "You can't disobey a direct order from the hokage--"

"You don't expect me to let the hokage of all people to go wandering into a bunch of assassins, do you?"

"He…" Shikamaru shook his head and sighed again. "Naruto did this for _you_, can't you see that? He didn't want anyone else going out on a mission with such a low success rate, _especially the person at the top of the list._"

Sasuke stopped, then slumped to the side, leaning heavily against the doorframe. "I…I'm an idiot."

Shikamaru refrained from agreeing. "He won't be working by himself," he said instead. "As much as you distrust the Kazekage, he's capable of handling quite a bit. Kankuro and Temari will be with them too."

Sasuke covered his face with one hand. Shikamaru let go of his arm. They stood in the office doorway, waiting in a strained silence for the rest of the hokage's assistants to arrive.

* * *

There was a knock. Sasuke looked up irritably from the stack of papers in front of him; it was nearly two a.m. and everyone else had left for the night.

"Come in," he grunted.

The door swung open and a figure in black and white Anbu gear stepped inside--the white vest and arm guards were stained with dried blood. Sasuke jumped awkwardly to his feet, slamming his thighs into the under-desk. He didn't care; he stumbled out from behind it and took an uncertain step forward.

"Naru--" He had to leap forward and catch the falling ninja. The porcelain mask slipped off and hit the carpeted floor, revealing the tired-looking face of his boyfriend. His eyebrows were drawn tightly together and his eyes were slightly hazy with pain.

"I…I'm…home," he grinned and fainted against the taller man.

Sasuke's mind erupted into silent panic: he lay Naruto down on the long couch to one side of the room and checked for breathing and a pulse; he found both. Sighing in temporary relief, Sasuke walked mechanically over to the desk corner and picked up the phone receiver from its cradle, then dialed. He waited two and a half rings.

"He--?"

"Sakura, Naruto's injured. I need you in the hokage's office now."

He hung up the phone and went back over to Naruto's side, studying the blood-drained face. He was covered in dirt and a dried layer of blood and sweat, and there were probably a few deep cuts, but nothing Sakura couldn't fix when she got here. Sasuke finally got a hold of his flailing thoughts and sat down on the couch next to the blond. After a moment of quiet contemplation, a thin-fingered hand reached up and cupped one scarred cheek.

"I'll apologize when you wake up." It was a shame his boyfriend missed the warm smile that crossed his pale lips. "For now, though, welcome home…"


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes: **The "dying" near the end of this drabble is in reference to Sasuke's "death" in the Haku arc.

* * *

"What do you mean, you don't have a home?"

_**I hate it when this happens…**_

"How the hell can you understand how I feel? You have _him_."

_**I hate it when we start fighting--**_

"It's not like he raised me or anything! I was alone too, you know!"

_**--over things that shouldn't matter.**_

"Yeah, whatever."

_**How do the arguments start?**_

"Look, you bastard, at least you _had _a home; a family."

_**And why do they always feel…**_

"You try having your family killed by your own brother! You shut the fuck up, _right now_!"

…_**twice as painful when I start them?**_

"It's not like I can relate with you there! I didn't _have_ a home _or _a family to miss!"

_**While we fight, I think of how to apologize later.**_

"Fuck you, Uzumaki! You don't care about anything but yourself!"

_**It's almost automatic now; the arguments, they seem…**_

"Got a problem with that? No one _else_ cared! Everyone wanted me _dead_! Try living with that one, Uchiha!"

…_**mechanical.**_

"What if someone _did_ care? Then what would you do if you watched them die in front of your eyes?"

_**Maybe one day, I can break out of this cycle…**_

"…I already have. Or…did you forget?"

_**Maybe one day, I can stop hurting you…**_

"…"

_**Naruto…**_


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes: **A love confession/ "couple moment", hmm? And more angst. -stares- Goodness, you readers are silly. :P But, thank you again for your reviews and compliments!

* * *

"Hmm? Only two of you?" Kakashi raised his one visible eyebrow. At his words, Sakura pouted and Naruto sulked.

"Sasuke isn't here," the blond made a face.

"Maybe Sasuke-kun is sick!" the pink-haired girl fretted. "Maybe we should go check on him?"

"Well, he was perfectly fine yesterday," Kakashi thought aloud, rubbing the back of his head. "But he might have caught something…"

"Please, let's go check on him, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura pleaded.

"That stupid bastard is fine," Naruto scowled and got thwapped on the back of the head by his teammate. "Ouch!"

"Don't talk about him like that!" she said crossly.

"Okay, okay," Kakashi held up his hands, cutting off Naruto's retort. "We'll split up and go looking for Sasuke. Sakura and I will go to his house and Naruto, you check the training grounds; perhaps he got carried away again…"

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura squealed and grabbed his hand. "Let's hurry! I'm worried about Sasuke-kun!"

"Ah…!" Kakashi was dragged off.

"Hmph, serves you right, stupid jounin," Naruto rolled his eyes and turned in the direction of the open-area training grounds. "Stupid Sasuke…" He started his search, hands shoved in his pockets and an annoyed look on his usually-grinning face.

* * *

The subdued chakra was gathered at the base of the tree just five yards ahead of him. Naruto checked for any signs of attack, but just noticed the overwhelming _exhaustion_ lingering in the air. Moving forward quietly, he reached the large tree and slipped his head around it to gaze down at whoever was lying there: it was Sasuke, and he was sleeping. His clothes, hair, and skin all looked drenched and filthy, used weapons lay strewn about his slumped figure, and for a moment, Naruto thought he had been attacked. Before he panicked however, he saw the tree across from them covered in shurinkan and kunai. _Ah, just training then…_ He breathed a quiet sight of relief, then shook his head. _Snap out of it, Naruto,_ he told himself. _You don't care about him any more than he cares about you, which isn't saying much._ But then Sasuke shifted in his sleep and let a little sigh escape from his slightly-parted lips and Naruto felt his face going hot. _Stop that! You're not a stupid little fan-girl! Sasuke's--_

Naruto knelt beside his teammate and studied him quietly for several moments. Then, he reached out and touched the other boy's cheek softly. "Oi, Sasuke…wake--"

"Nn…" the black-haired genjin turned his face into Naruto's hand, his pale lips brushing the palm. Naruto squeaked and his blush flared up hard.

"O-oi! Stop that! I'm not Sakura, dammit!" he tried to pull his hand away but Sasuke made a soft noise and Naruto gulped and watched him sleep for a moment. He didn't realize he was leaning over until their faces were centimeters apart, their breathing uneven: Sasuke breathing soft and slow, Naruto not even breathing at all. He blinked, then closed his eyes and pressed his lips gently to Sasuke's.

When he pulled back, black orbs were glaring up at him. Naruto yelped in surprise and fell over onto the ground. Sasuke sat up and waited for him to recover.

"And what the hell were you doing?" he lifted a dark eyebrow.

"Sasuke, you bastard! Don't scare me like that!" Naruto gasped, clutching a hand to his chest. "I thought you were sleeping!"

"You weren't exactly quiet," the other boy sighed.

"You knew I was…?" he turned an even darker shade of red. Sasuke grinned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Th-then how come you didn't stop me?"

It was Sasuke's turn to blush: "I just…didn't."

"So, you _wanted_ me to kiss you?" Naruto blinked.

"No!" Sasuke snapped, but he quickly looked away. "I mean… Well, we kissed before, right? So, what does it matter?"

Naruto recalled the fluke-kiss in the classroom the first day they had become teammates. "That doesn't count."

"I guess I just wanted to see if that's what it was really like, that's all," Sasuke said defensively, and a huge grin suddenly spread across the blonde's face.

"You wanted to kiss me again!" he crowed, crossing his arms back behind his head.

"NO!" Sasuke fumed. "I.. I just…"

"Sasuke looooooooves me!" he continued, glad to be away from the spotlight of this conversation. "Wait 'til the fan-girls hear about this! The super-cool Sasuke is in love with a booooooooy!"

With an angry cry, the raven-haired boy tackled his partner and the two of them went rolling. Sasuke wound up on top, his hands clasping the other boy's and holding them to the dirt, his knees on either side of his hips, his weight pinning the blond successfully beneath him. The blush returned in full, and there was an awkward silence.

"I don't know," Sasuke muttered, his face turned away so Naruto couldn't read his expression. "Maybe I do kind of…like you…"His black eyes shot up to the other's face. "So what if I do, though? I don't care about those stupid girls anyway." His heated gaze suddenly softened when they connected with the blue eyes staring back up at him. "I'm only interested in people who are on my level or better; I want a challenge, and…" he gulped, "you're the only one who challenges me…"

Naruto gulped back, staring up in to the pale, serious face breathlessly. He opened his mouth to reply, blinked, then closed it again. Sasuke's warmth and weight atop him just made it that much harder to speak.

"…like you…"

Sasuke tilted his head to the side. "Naruto…?"

"I like you too," he grumbled, letting his head fall to one side. "I've…liked you for a long time; it's almost like a complex," he wrinkled his nose. "You're so far ahead of me, that I'm obsessed with catching up to you. And when I started to learn about _you_--the real you--it wasn't just about beating you anymore." He lifted his eyes slowly to look into Sasuke's. "I wanted to get to know you, _be_ with you…"

Sasuke was kissing _him_ this time. Their tongues slicked together clumsily as their fingers found one another's and intertwined, both of them suddenly so highly aware of their own bodies and turning all interesting shades of red as their breathing shortened and escalated all at once. And then--

"Sasuke-kun? Naruto?"

"It's…" the blond tried to speak but his words were muffled by the warm, quick tongue that darted past his open lips. The girl's footsteps were getting closer. "Nn…!" Sasuke tore his mouth away with a breathless gasp for air, his chest heaving gently. Beneath him, Naruto fidgeted: "Sasuke, she's gonna see us!"

"So?" he shrugged, looking at the boy pinned beneath him. "You don't agree to this, then?"

"I do!" he cried, then bit his lip, looking bashful. "It's just…we're not exactly…considering Sakura's feelings in all of this."

Sasuke's lips twisted in a grimacing he rolled off the other boy, rising to his feet. "You still like her."

"Actually," Naruto sat up and rose as well, brushing the dirt off his orange jumpsuit, "I kind of gave up on her some time ago."

"Good," Sasuke suddenly grinned, extending a hand to the other boy. "I didn't intend on sharing you anyway."

"Where will we go?" the blond took the offered hand in his own.

"My house," his companion shrugged. "It's not like anyone's waiting at home for either of us."

Naruto briefly remembered his original intention for finding the black-haired genjin and winced. "Erm, maybe we should go to my house instead," he grinned sheepishly. "Like you said, there's definitely no one there to welcome me home or anything."

Lifting an eyebrow but not arguing, Sasuke nodded and let Naruto lead him down the back streets and to his small apartment.

* * *

Sakura pushed her way through the tree branches and into the clearing littered with abandoned kunai and shurinkan. "Sasuke-kun?" she instantly picked up on the chakra residue hanging from the bark of the tree beside her and small strands of it from the weapons. Then, she faintly read a second person's chakra image: "Naruto?" No one answered. Sighing, she turned and left the empty clearing, wondering if Naruto had found their teammate and taken him back to Kakashi-sensei, but also greatly doubting it at the same time. "Those two… If they were a bit sharper, they'd realize that the only one's who _didn't_know how they felt about each other were _themselves_…" 


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes: **So, angst and extreme fluff are my next goals. Hmm.. So, how much exactly is 'extreme' fluff? Like, gagging on sugar-type fluff, where Sasuke makes googly-eyes and Naruto's uber-uke? Hah…I kinda like that expression. Anyway! Yes! You can request anything you'd like to see me try, and no, it doesn't have to deal with the "welcome home" theme directly. These have become just random stories that pop into my head and don't necessarily concern themselves with them. Thank you for reading and listening to me make my silly author comments. Here we go!

* * *

He pushed the door open, listening for movement within the sleeping house as he slipped inside and shut it again behind him. He clicked the lock into place, feeling the other presence emanating from the bedroom. He was asleep. Being very careful, he toed his shoes off, untied the white leg and arm guards from the respective limbs, and leaned them and his black-hilted sword against the foyer wall. Then he passed through the living room and into the hall, tip-toeing past the open bedroom door and down to the bathroom where a change of clothes lay waiting for him on the counter top. He smiled gently and rid himself of the filthy Anbu costume, turned on the water, then stepped into the shower. As he ran his fingers back through his hair, cleansing it of blood and sweat and dirt, he saw something move in the corner of his vision.

"You didn't wake me up."

"I'm sorry I wasn't quiet enough," he smiled softly to himself. The shower curtain was pulled back and his lover joined him under the cascading water. Half-dry arms encircled his slick waist, tugging him back, into the other man's body. He fell wordlessly into the arms that waited for him.

"How did it go?"

"Same as always."

"Were you hurt?"

"I'm fine. I promised, remember?" He turned in the embrace, coming face to face with his companion. His own arms slid up around his shoulders, holding them close beneath the hot rain. "Did you miss me?"

In response, lips were pressed gently to his and he sighed in contentment, holding his lover tighter. A small, pleading tongue lapped against his mouth and he parted his lips compliantly, welcoming the familiar slick caress that made him shiver each time it ran across the curve of his mouth. Wet hands slipped clumsily between their bodies and ghosted across flesh long-missed by one another, breathless moans escalating to cries of names under the pounding water as they quickly lost themselves to time and lust. The kiss continued to engulf them both, the need for one mirrored in the other; he growled pleasantly as the other man finally started to succumb to him.

"Mm..?" his eyes were hazy and unfocused.

"Come on, I'm not having you fall in the shower."

"Don't… please don't stop," the blush overrode cheeks already tinged red with longing. "I missed you so much…"

"Oh, I won't stop," he turned off the now-cold water. "I've just started, actually…"

* * *

They lay together in the bed they shared for the first time in a long time. His lover was trying not to fall asleep against him. He stroked the slightly-damp hair that tickled his chest and smiled at nothing in particular: _It's good to be--_

"Hey…"

He blinked and looked down at the sleepy face. "Yeah?"

"Welcome home."

_--home._ He rolled onto his side and wrapped his arms tightly around the other man's shoulders, breathing in his scent, suddenly on the verge of both laughter and tears. He kissed his neck, kissed his cheeks, forehead, chin, nose, kissed his eyes, kissed his lips and held his companion tight.

"Thank you."


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes: **I will throw a proposal and a love confession in the same story together! I had that brilliant idea while I was driving with my friends and listening to hard j-rock. Haha, I'm so strange. But I'm still so glad you like these drabbles! You all give me such nice comments! You're such a nice bunch of readers! More requests just for you! Yay!

* * *

He looked down at the golden band lying cold against his palm. Droplets of rain had splashed across its shiny surface and clung to it like off-shaped diamonds that glittered whenever the lightning forked out from the clouds overhead. He curled his fingers around his father's heirloom and waited. 

"You wanted to talk to me?" the familiar voice came from somewhere to his left and he felt himself smile instantly. He turned his head, the water that had collected on his face streaming down to patter on his green vest's shoulder pad.

"Yeah, I did."

The black-haired shinobi wrinkled his nose, eyes slit slightly against the falling rain. "Couldn't we have done this somewhere _drier_?"

"You don't like the rain?" he blinked. "I always thought it was very…cleansing."

Lightning streaked overhead, quickly followed by the thunder's loud boom. The other man waited for the echo of it to fade from the sky before speaking: "What did you want to talk about?"

The blond turned to face his friend fully, shoving the hand with the ring into his pocket. "You're leaving tomorrow morning, right?"

"Mm-hmm."

"…I heard you'd be gone for a while."

"Are you the one who gave Kiba that black eye?"

"Don't change the subject!"

"I don't believe I am," the taller man gave a slight grin.

"How long do you think it'll take? The mission, I mean," he averted his eyes from the other man's slightly pale lips. He had been following the beads of water that had slipped from his damp hair down the curve of his face and along the tilt of his grin, and could do little to suppress the urge to lick the water away.

"Shikamaru estimates about half a year," he shrugged.

"That's…a long time."

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke looked at his teammate closely, trying to decipher the emotions flickering in his deep blue eyes. The rain had already soaked him down to the bone; his usually-spiky blond hair was plastered to his head and face. He looked…fragile. 

"…why did you want to know?" he cleared his throat, resisting the urge to lift a hand and push the wet bangs away from the other man's eyes.

"I just…" Uzumaki Naruto lowered his eyes to the muddy ground, and scuffed one foot in front of him. "This is the longest you'll be gone from Konoha since…" He unconsciously stiffened and the blond noticed; he flinched. Sasuke wasn't quite sure how to react to this. The subject of his betrayal to Konoha had been a touchy one, and after the day of his return, it had never been mentioned between them. Naruto had welcomed him home with no questions or judgment, and now…

"What does it matter?" he turned his back to his friend, wanting to let him know not to go any further down the track that this conversation was going. "I'm going to come back." He glanced back at the blond, giving a humorless grin: "Or do you think it's just an excuse to run away again?"

* * *

"That's not what I meant!" Naruto cried, jumping forward and gripping his cold wrist, holding him back. The ring that had been clenched in his fingers dropped to the dark path with a plop and he momentarily debated bending down and recovering it, but within such a tense moment, he resisted. "I trust you, you know that! That's not why I said that! I was just…just…comparing," he finished lamely. His hand slipped from the other's wrist and he stepped away, keeping his eyes to the floor now. The gold ring stared back up at him, blurring slightly as his vision was obscured by a sudden rush of hot tears. _Now he's going to call me an idiot and walk away, and I won't be able to…won't be able to…

* * *

_

Sasuke paused, then turned back around. Naruto's shoulders were slumped and his eyes were clenched tightly shut, his bottom lip pulled in as he bit on it fiercely. His eyes dropped to the ground as well, and he blinked when he saw the gold band half-stuck in the mud in between them. He knelt and removed it, rubbing the cold earth from it. Then he nudged Naruto's shoulder and held out the ring as the blond looked up with tear-filled eyes. He winced: _Dammit, I did it again…

* * *

_

Naruto looked at the ring in Sasuke's hand, gulped down the knot in his throat, and pushed the hand back toward the other man.

"It's…it's for you," he sniffled weakly, trying to sound like he hadn't been crying. "That's why I called you out here, where we could be alone and I could…" His voice hitched and he inhaled deeply, willing himself to calm down. "I wanted to give it to you, before you left."

* * *

Sasuke blinked slowly, absorbing what his friend had just insinuated. "…why?" he finally asked. 

Naruto sighed: "Because I want you to have it, dumbass."

"But it's…" the raven-haired Anbu tried to make sense of it. Half of his brain was screaming out in surprise and the other half in happiness, but, it was too dangerous to hope. He had to know: "Naruto, where did this ring come from? And why are you giving it to me?"

The blond nodded as if he had been expecting these questions and knew how to answer them. "The ring belonged to my father," he said and Sasuke's head snapped up attentively. "Jiraiya gave it to me. He said my father wanted me to have it when I was old enough." He shrugged offhandedly and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, keeping his face turned away. "I'm giving it to you because I want to."

"Naruto, I can't take this," Sasuke shoved the ring abruptly at him. "It was your father's--"

"You _have_ to take it," he shoved it right back. "My father wanted me to give that to the person I--" Naruto suddenly turned a fierce shade of red and dropped his hands, which had been clasped over his companion's.

"Finish." If possible, he slumped lower. "Naruto, please, finish it."

He murmured something. Sasuke tried to tell him he couldn't hear it, but his throat had constricted and all that came out was a dry squeak. Somehow, in the darkness and the rain, as lighting continued to flicker and thunder kept roaring overhead, blue eyes met black ones.

* * *

"He wanted me to give it to the person that I love." His hands groped silently, pleadingly for the others. "The one who's most important to me. The one I want to be with forever." Cold fingers found one another and intertwined. "I want to be with you, Sasuke. I want…I want you to stay by my side forever. I don't want you to go away anymore, I don't want to be left alone again, I never, ever want you to leave me. Can't you understand?" Their foreheads had somehow come together, they were leaning into each other, Naruto's voice slowly getting lower and lower, until it was nothing more than a shaky whisper. "Don't you see? I've always… Ever since we were younger, I've always looked up to you, aspired to be you, to be better than you, and then, finally…" the last part was almost lost in a rumble of thunder, "I fell in love with you." 

He was expecting a cold silence, to be shoved away and left behind to stand alone in the rain and feel ashamed. What he wasn't expecting was what Sasuke did: he threw his arms around Naruto's shoulders and yanked him even closer, gripping their bodies together until the warmth from their centers gathered between them and spread throughout both of their bodies, pushing away the cold of the rain and wind. Naruto tried to say something but didn't know what could possibly fit in this situation.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Sasuke whispered harshly into Naruto's neck, and the blond was suddenly light-headed as those same pale lips brushed tenderly against the angle of his jaw. "Why did you keep it to yourself for so long? If I had known that you…" If possible, Sasuke squeezed him tighter. "You idiot, I love you too."

"Wha…?" Naruto didn't think he was one for imagining things like this, but maybe he'd been out in the rain for just a little too long and now he had a cold and it was causing him crazy hallucinations. Sasuke, admitting he loved someone, much less _Naruto_? Yeah, right.

"I…" Sasuke's hands slipped up to clasp either side of Naruto's face and he moved his lips upward, dropping soft, fluttering kisses all over the features of his scarred face. "I love you too."

"Sa-Sasuke, you…?" he couldn't make a coherent sentence; he was incredibly dizzy all of a sudden.

"Yes," the other man whispered back, pressing their foreheads together, a shaky smile curving his mouth slightly. "Since before I left the village--even while I was away, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I came back _for you_, Naruto. No one else, no other reason." His voice was likewise dropping in tone until the rain itself almost drowned out his words. "I couldn't stay away; my heart wouldn't _let_ me stay away anymore. I loved you too much." He corrected himself. "I _love_ you too much."

And for absolutely no reason at all, Naruto began to laugh. It began as a chuckle, and then escalated to the point of nearly shrieking; he threw his head back and laughed up at the dark sky, his hands gripping his friend's vest convulsively. Helaughed until fresh tears sprang into the corners of his eyes and he couldn't breathe properly, and all the while, Sasuke was giving him a puzzled look.

"What's so funny?" he finally asked as Naruto's laughter calmed down.

"I was…so worried," the blond gasped between small fits of giggles. "I mean…I never thought that you…of all people…"

"Believe it," the black-haired ninja said and pressed his lips firmly to Naruto's. That effectively stopped the laughter, but it also brought back the blush he had worked so hard to suppress. When they pulled apart from their wet, awkward kiss, Sasuke himself began to chuckle. 

"Now what's so funny?" the blond asked dizzily--he was still recovering from the surprise Sasuke had just given him.

"You," he answered simply, and laughed a bit more when Naruto tried to pout at him through his haze. He held up the ring, which had wound up clenched in one of his hands, and held it up for the blond to see. Naruto blinked and watched in numb disbelief as Sasuke kissed the golden band and then slipped it onto the ring finger of his left hand. Then, he looked up into his eyes and smiled. "I'll come home as fast as I can. But only if you're here to welcome me home again."

Speechless for a moment or so, the best answer Naruto had was to take Sasuke's left hand in both of his, smooth the raindrops from the ring that fit his now-lover perfectly, and kiss it gently. And he was not surprised to feel that the ring was no longer ice cold. He smiled back at Sasuke.

"I will be, I promise."

"Even after this mission? Forever?" Sasuke lifted an eyebrow and the blond could only blink, startled again. "That's what you said, isn't it?"

Naruto opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again, and chuckled lightly. He took the hand he was holding in both of his and pressed it firmly against his heart, nodding slowly.

"Forever," he agreed. "As long as you want me to be beside you."

"I can live with forever," the black-haired man wrapped his other arm around his companion's waist and drew him close again.

"Good," the blond closed his eyes and let the tears come one more time. This time, he wasn't ashamed.


	25. Chapter 25

_I hate you. _

**The grotesque, pale-fleshed wings ripped free from his back, the muscles there spasming madly as they were torn apart and reshaped. The black hair that had turned a shocking charcoal gray was hanging freely past his shoulders, swaying wildly in the wind bursts rising from the waterfall. His black eyes had spiraled into deep pools of nothingness that led to his own darkness within. He was…**

_You are everything I am not, and everything I have come to despise. You are what I stand against, you are my extreme opposite, you are beneath me. And for this, I will always be the stronger. _

**He watched the blood red chakra flare up around his once-teammate's body, a large tongue of it flaring out, almost like a tail. His eyes were no longer the blue of the sky that had hidden itself from view, but the color of rage, of fire, of pain and passion and death. The color of blood, just like his aura. The demon glared at him from across the valley, and its rumbling growl reverberated over the roaring falls.**

_I'm leaving you behind; leaving this existence. This is the last I'll see of you. I'm moving on, I'm going to another place where I won't be just another sad and pathetic face in the crowd. I am different. I am not like you._

**The white tendrils of chakra he focused into his clawed hand flared up and turned black, reflecting the color of his heart. Silver strands of unknown power leaked into the fierce _chidori_; he had lost count of how many times it had come into play in this never-ending battle. For some reason, this was the final move: this was all he had, all he could give would be in this last strike. He would obliterate the last obstacle in his path to freedom.**

_You think everything is so easy. You laugh without a care in the world. But I know pain and suffering--I stand alone, I carry this sin on my shoulders. Leftover sin from my past. You wouldn't understand because you're nothing like me; even if I tried explaining it to someone like you._

**His opponent lunged, with something that looked condensed and deadly. Overwhelming confidence raced through him, however. He would win. He would come out of this fight with only a few scratches. Even in the end, this nothing-boy would be a waste of his time. He met the attack anyway: blue and orange chakra engulfed them, black silver and red gold collided in an instant of deadly stillness. The power congealed, swirled, then broke again. His claws and the demon's fist both punctured the others defenses.**

_I hate you, because…_

**It was over. He stood above the collapsed body as the last beam of visible light narrowed to a pinpoint on his former friend's face. Then it disappeared. His headband--_the_ _only thing he had been aiming for the entire fight_--slipped its knot and fell from his head, clanking hollowly on the floor beside an outstretched hand. And then, the pain came.**

_I love you._

**He stared at a face that he could finally understand. There was no laughter, no over-dramatic expression to hide the truth that had been there all along. He could not wear his mask while he was far gone in sleep. Because he had not killed him after all. Something…had changed his mind. His humanity, his _sanity_, had returned, redirected his attack, made him miss the throat and the heart completely. He saw the pain. He saw the suffering of a thousand mocking voices and faces, the loneliness of an empty apartment and no one to trust, no one to cling to. Except each other.**

_And that is why I have to go. No more sorrow; the end of heartache. I hate to love you--_

**He stopped. Nothing but sheer will kept him on his feet. He had to keep moving, had to keep going, but this… Blackness swirled in his vision. He had to say it, or else he could never begin to forgive himself. So many convictions in such a short time. Trying to kill the person closest to you for power, only to realize futilely in the last few seconds that not everything could be avoided, but not everything could go the way it was laid out to be. Things changed, people changed, and with that change came understanding. He didn't know if he was too late.**

_--my dear friend. Don't die… Just like I asked you selfishly before, and I'll ask it again: don't die. I'll live with my pain and you live with yours, and maybe when the scars begin to fade, I can face you again. I…will come back home, someday._

**"Naruto…" And then he turned and disappeared into the darkness.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes: **Eh-hee. I'm glad you all liked chapter twenty four--that was one of my rare attempts of extreme fluff. I love getting comments from you all: they're so helpful! And yay for another request! I'm a tiny bit ashamed to say that I've never truly wrote something small and intimate for Sasuke and Naruto, although, I did write _something_ along those lines in one of my other fics. But yeah, I'll try writing something convincing between these two, and hopefully, it won't come out a mess. For now, more angst. Because I just read the recent chapters of the manga. And sorry this is so short; I'll make up for it with a longer one next time, promise!

* * *

In the room of cold stone and dark corners, the familiar silhouette stood to face them.

_Sasuke, what happened to you?_

His eyes were blood red; the pinwheel trinity turned maliciously.

_Oh my god… Is this what you've been doing for three years?_

The pain came in an onslaught of memory: things once pushed far from the conscious mind, hatred and mockery and betrayal and so…much…pain…

_Sasuke, no… Don't tell me you were turned into a monster…_

The jeers, the stares, the shunning. Dreams held tantalizingly close and just out of reach. Falling into a whirlpool of despair, unable to hear the voices of companions now lost to time and circumstance.

_I've come here to take you back. Please, Sasuke, don't deny me--come home..._

A hand reached out of the darkness, and the smile that came with it was awkward and true. The-once voice fell on deaf ears but was heard with the heart:

_You've been alone these past three years, haven't you? You don't ever have to be lonely again._

And the nightmare was suddenly over. The Sharingan relented and the jitsu released its hold. Black eyes that were once red and urged secretly now looked unsure and…

_Come back to where you belong, and I'll always welcome you home._

A hand reached out of the darkness, and it was taken, unafraid.


	27. Chapter 27, part 1

**Notes: **Oh-kay! I've been getting requests for angst and fluff and even an intimate scene between the two, but, apparently, I haven't been delivering. I'm so sorry! I'll try and make them better…

* * *

He broke left while his partner darted right. Blades flashed in the late evening sunlight and screams ripped into the heavy silence of the air as crimson splashes danced in the fading sky. Two solid thumps brought their adrenaline-hazed minds back to reality. They looked over the bodies and at one another, blue eyes meeting black, faces concealed by their masks.

"Nice," one spoke up, reaching into his hip pouch and getting out a cloth to wipe away the red stains on the weapon's surface. The other pressed a button, located on a special collar he wore around his neck.

"This is Squad Three," he spoke softly. "The South area is cleared."

"**_Good work," _**a different voice came out from the ear-clip transmitter the Anbu wore. **_"Start heading for the nearest checkpoint; there will be transportation waiting for you there."_**

"Affirmative," he pressed the collar button again and picked up his fallen cloak, wrapping it about his shoulders in a tight flourish. He looked back at his partner, who had finished cleaning his sword. "Hey. We're going back now."

"Good, I'm hungry," the other man hurried over and then fell into step beside the first.

"You're always hungry," came the standard reply. They continued to walk, brown and dead leaves crunching underfoot as they slipped back into the trees and headed silently toward the appointed meeting place. The sun finally fell and the thick tree trunks consumed their full view.

"_Sharingan_," one blinked and black eyes turned bright red.

"Show-off," the other snorted.

And then, there was the slightest of sounds, one that not even the highly-advanced eyes of Shaingan could fully interpret to the user's mind. It was like a breathless whisper of air, soft and fleeting, like a ghost lover's touch. But what attacked was no ghost: it was a third enemy, one they hadn't been informed of. It came from behind them, and slipped into the Sharingan's blind spot. One whirled to meet the attack and the other started to as well but was pushed aside as a flash of silver gleamed harshly in the deep shadows of the forest. With a sickening noise, hot, thick liquid sprayed along the trunk of a tree close by, and all three stood frozen in shock, two pairs of eyes looking up at the figure of the third who stood unmoving, a long-bladed sword protruding out of the small of his back. It had entered from the belly and pierced through in a straight line of flesh and innards, and most likely, had successfully severed the spinal chord as well. He chocked softly and fell forward on the blade, his mask slipping off his face and clattering sharply against the tree roots between his feet, exposing scarred cheeks and dull eyes covered by unruly spikes of blond hair.

"Made…it…" Uzumaki Naruto tried his best to turn the corner of his mouth up in a grin before he died on the blade. His partner stood frozen as the attacker ripped the weapon roughly from the blonde's stomach and spun around to catch him in his off-guard state. He barely ducked his head and backed away one or two feet, his eyes trying to drift back over to the fallen body but his mind screaming at him that he shouldn't, it wasn't a good idea, he was being attacked and such a distraction was the last thing he needed. But…

"Naruto…" the name spilled numbly from half-trembling lips as the blood-coated sword jabbed at him once more and he abruptly whipped out a small dagger from beneath the white wrist cuff of his arm guards, swinging it in a counter-arc and catching the blade, holding it at bay. He lifted red Sharingan eyes to stare into the cold one's of his friend's killer, who was smiling emotionlessly, trying to force the sword down on him.

"There's no one left to help you," he murmured, throwing all his weight into the attempted guard break. The Anbu stumbled and warning alarms clanged in his head, but he ignored them and stared at nothing, another half of his uncomprehending brain seeing the sword piercing his friend's stomach, coming out the other side, his strong shoulders hunching over, the mask falling to the dark forest floor. And then a burning orange-red light shook him out of his stupor and the sound of a body hitting the dirt told him his attacker was dead.

"What?" he gasped briefly and looked up at his savior, wanting to tell them, _scream_ at them, that Naruto was hurt and he needed help as soon as possible, but then he saw who it was. "_Naruto?_ I thought you were…" he shook his head and strode forward quickly, reaching out to touch the blonde's arm. "Are you oka--"

Again, he barely managed to dodge the attack, this time from his own teammate. "Naruto! What the hell's the matter with you?" his reassurance quickly jumping to anger. "I'm sorry you got hurt, but that doesn't mean--" He attacked again and once more the other Anbu dodged his claws. _Claws?_ His Sharingan essentially short-circuited and snuffed itself out when he finally caught a full-out look at Naruto: his eyes, which were usually the color of the sun-lit sky, burned a fierce flame red, the black pupils skewed into vertical slits--demon eyes; the dual set of scars on either tanned cheek had elongated, giving him what appeared to be staggered whiskers, much like those of an animal; his fingernails had grown instantaneously, becoming almost two-inch-long daggers which gleamed sliver and appeared to be (he didn't want to find out) hard as diamonds and sharp enough to slice through air. Naruto had somehow transformed into the _Kyuubi Kitsune_--the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

_Oh shit_, is what he thought, but what he said was: "Hey, come on. You don't recognize me?" He slowly showed his hands to Naruto first, then reached up and slipped the mask down from his face, uncovering pale skin and dark, almond-shaped eyes. "It's me," his voice took on a slightly pleading note that he himself was unaware of. "It's me: Sasuke."

His statement was answered with a deep growl that emanated from the center of the blonde's chest. It rumbled in the silence of the forest and made Uchiha Sasuke's blood run cold. _He doesn't recognize me. That means I'm next._ And on cue, the Kyuubi/Naruto lunged for him and he squeezed his eyes shut until he heard a heavy thump. Hesitantly, he opened first one eye, then both.

"I had to use a sleeping jitsu on him," Hyuuga Neji spoke almost apologetically as he pulled the mask away from his slender face. The unsettling white eyes landed on the Uchiha and he lifted one elegant eyebrow. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

"He's probably just a little shaken up," Neji's partner slipped out from behind the trees and lowered his mask as well. "It's not everyday you face up against a demon. Especially _that _demon," Inuzuka Kiba made a displeased face down at the heap on the ground that was his friend.

"That's enough of that for now," Neji spoke discreetly, giving the silent Anbu a cautious side-glance.

"The guys at the transport said you had checked in earlier, but you hadn't shown up, so we came to see what was up," Kiba explained their well-timed rescue. "At least you're not hurt."

"But Naruto…" the slightly-older man let his unmarred brow wrinkle in a frown. "How did this happen?" Then he quickly shook his head. "No, never mind that. We have to get you and Naruto back to Konoha. I don't think our current medical ninja can do much for his condition…"

"Hinata could try!" the man with the blood-red markings on his face flashed an angry glare at his superior.

"We would need someone more skilled in containment seals and knowledgeable in _jinkurichi _conditions," Neji successfully shut the other man up. "Now, help me carry hi--"

"I'll carry him," Sasuke finally spoke up, sounding slightly mechanical. He felt as if he were watching himself from outside his own mind: he picked up the blond, grimacing slightly at the slowly-regenerating wound gaping in his abdomen, nodded to the other two Anbu, who nodded back and slipped their own masks back on, and followed them through the almost-pitch black collection of trees.

_Naruto…what's going on? What happened? I can't help but be happy that you're still alive, but this…is not really you. Maybe when you're home again, I can welcome the real you back._


	28. Chapter 28, part 2

"Sasuke."

His head snapped up and he rose out of the half-doze he had allowed himself to slip into when they had arrived at the hospital. A pink-haired woman was poking her head out from the emergency room, her teal eyes looking exhausted and worried all at once.

"The operation's over," Haruno Sakura gave her friend a weak smile. "You can come in now. The Godaime wants to talk to you too."

Grunting in acknowledgement, Uchiha Sasuke rose and shoved his hands into his pockets. He slipped into the room, and as he passed the girl who was once his teammate, he nudged her arm briefly with his own.

"Thanks."

She smiled and shook her head, following him into the sterile white room. The two of them crossed to the lone bed in the center, where the blond was sitting about half-way up, his eyes hooded and dark. Sasuke's heart leapt into his throat, but he managed to keep his emotions under control.

"Naruto?" he called, his voice cracking. He winced at the sound.

"He can't hear you," came another voice and both he and Sakura turned around to see the Godaime Hokage leaning against the doorframe behind them, her arms crossed beneath her considerable-sized chest. She straightened and made her way over to the side of the bed where the other two had gathered. "Naruto's no longer in there."

"In there?" Sakura blinked in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke lifted an eyebrow, not betraying the screaming going on in the back of his mind.

She sighed, as if explaining was too troublesome to do: "Naruto managed to stay alive long enough by summoning out the Kyuubi's full powers, giving him self-defense and strong regenerative techniques. When you got him here, Sakura and I managed to stop the insane amount of chakra that was flowing through his body."

"The Kyuubi's chakra," Sakura clarified, then turned a puzzled expression to her teacher. "But, Tsunande-sama, if we successfully subdued the chakra in Naruto's body, why is Naruto not 'in there'?"

"Naruto was only able to bring out the Kyuubi's abilities by, in essence, opening the pathway deep inside himself and allowing the Kyyubi to escape the containment seal." Tsunande passed a hand gently across Naruto's belly, her fingertips glowing faint blue with chakra. A deep, rumbling growl issued from the back of Naruto's throat and both Sakura and Sasuke started, looking apprehensively at the hokage while she prodded the newly-healed stomach wound and exposed the Yondaime's powerful containment jitsu seal.

Which was half-missing.

"What!" Sakura yelped. "But that means--"

"That the Kyuubi could break free of his prison at any moment," Tsunande nodded grimly, her hand pulling back and the growling subsiding. "But that growl just now, was just the Kyuubi's external defenses. Both Naruto _and_ the Kyuubi are lost inside Naruto's body right now. Probably fighting each other."

"So then…" the younger woman's eyes widened. "Naruto is keeping the Kyuubi from escaping by fighting it…within himself?"

"Exactly," the blond hokage smiled fondly at her student, but then rose sharp hazel eyes to the other occupant of the room. "Which gives us some time to reform the seal. But," her eyes softened slightly, "I don't exactly know how long that brat can hold out against a nine-tailed demon fox. So, I wanted to send in some help." Her look got more pointed again. Sasuke nodded.

"I'll go help him."

"But…how?" Sakura wailed desperately.

"Hokage-sama? You wanted to see me?" They turned to the voice at the door. Yamanaka Ino stepped inside, followed closely by Naruto's teacher, Jiraiya.

"Yes, Ino. I have a favor I need to ask you." Tsunande left Naruto's side, giving Sakura and Sasuke a side-glance before passing them. Sasuke sat down on the side of the bed, looking wearily at the blank scarred face.

"…Sasuke."

He glanced back at the pink-haired medical ninja. "Nn?"

She sat next to him. "This reminds me…of when you left all those years ago."

He flinched and turned fully to face her: "How?"

"…I asked Naruto to bring you back safely. I didn't go with him…" she lowered her eyes to the floor, remembering what had happened so long ago. "But the next time he went, I went with him." She gave him a thin, strained smile. "And now, you're going off to save Naruto, and I can't come either way."

"I'll bring him back, Sakura. I promise," he said softly and she winced, tears rising slowly into her eyes.

"Please, don't…that's exactly what he said the first time…" Large tears rolled down her red-tinged cheeks and she rubbed them away fiercely, tightening her fists and slamming them down on her thighs, making Sasuke jump slightly. "I'm not useless! I can help too!" And she lifted her trembling hands to Sasuke's arm, leaning her head against his shoulder. Her eyes clenched shut in concentration, and Sasuke suddenly realized that all his pain and exhaustion had melted away. He was awake, refreshed, as if he had just gotten twelve hours of sleep (instead of twelve _minutes_). He watched as her hands pulled away from his arm and clasped together in front of her chest, her green healing chakra becoming visible in her gathered hands. With a soft gleam, she opened her palms and smiled down at the small teal-colored orb that glowed and spiraled gently in her hands.

"Give this to Naruto…when you see him…" She smiled and lifted the orb to him. Hesitantly, Sasuke took it, feeling the warmth of the healing chakra contained in the sphere.

"I will," he nodded. "And I'll tell him what you said."

"Thank you, Sasuke," she beamed at him, then fell off the side of the bed in a faint. Lunging, Sasuke managed to catch her before she struck the hard marble floor.

"Shit," he grumbled as understanding clicked in his mind. He lifted her into his arms as the others approached him. "She's asleep," he told them.

"I'll take her to another room to rest, then I'll come back and help you, Tsunande," Jiraiya offered and the hokage nodded, her eyes filled with something that resembled sorrow and understanding. Sasuke wordlessly handed Sakura over to the other man and he carried her out of the ward, as gently as any father would carry their sleeping daughter. Relieved slightly, Sasuke turned to the other women in the room.

"Alright. I'm ready," he nodded.

Tsunande nodded back: "Ino's going to use a modified version of her body-invasion jitsu to propel you into Naruto's." She tossed her hair and looked at him grimly. "Your mission is to come back alive, Uchiha. And to bring Naruto home. Understood?"

"Yes," he straightened, the orb containing part of Sakura's life force clenched protectively in his fist at his side.

"Good," the hokage nodded, then looked over at Ino, who already had her hands locked in a strange seal.

"Sasuke, please, stand directly between Naruto and myself," she instructed and he did as he was told. "Are you ready?" He nodded. Sasuke felt the chakra flow around him distorting, and closed his eyes to brace himself for the trip. The last thing he saw was Naruto's empty face. His heart squeezed painfully, and then he knew nothing.

_Naruto… _I'll_ come save _you_ this time. And I'm going to bring you back. Everyone is waiting for us…they're waiting to welcome you home._


	29. Chapter 29, part 3

Uchiha Sasuke opened his eyes. It was dark, wherever he was. He wordlessly activated the Sharingan and was abruptly knocked flat to the ground, his red eyes wide but unseeing. He was looking at the image seared into his brain: the Kyuubi Kitsune--it was _everywhere_. From his past experience with his former master, Orochimaru, Sasuke knew the aura of hatred, anger, and fear. This took all those emotions and braided them together into solid walls of rage and the feeling of indignation, bordered thinly by pain and overwhelming sorrow. This was Naruto's mind.

* * *

Abruptly, Yamanaka Ino stumbled and hit the floor, landing hard on her back. She stared at the ceiling, dazed. Tsunande knelt beside the young ninja and checked her for any mental damage; there was none, just the lingering remnants of Sasuke's aura in her body. The last of it leaked away and into Naruto at her guidance, and Ino's hazy eyes blinked once and returned to normal. She sat up, rubbing the back of her head.

"Ugh… Hokage-sama? What happened?" she mumbled.

"Maybe Sasuke got a good look at exactly what Naruto has in that little body of his," the older woman answered grimly before helping the other to her feet. "Thanks for your help, Ino, but I can supervise it from here. If anything like that happens to you again, come back here and let me know, okay?"

With a nod, the long-haired girl was off and Tsunande sat heavily on the edge of the hospital bed, by Naruto's feet.

"Be careful, you two…" she whispered to the empty room.

* * *

Sasuke rose groggily, turning off his Sharingan in fear of getting blown away again. He looked around dizzily, taking in slow, deep breaths as he analyzed the area and his situation.

"Okay," he said out loud. "I'm inside Naruto's head, the Kyuubi is _definitely_ here too, I can't see or sense a _damn_ thing, and I don't exactly know how I'm going to find him or the fox, _or_ what I'm going to do when I _do _find them." He sighed. "Some rescue mission."

…_Sasuke?_

He blinked, startled. "Naruto?" he called back to the darkness around him.

_Sasuke, what the hell are you doing here?_

"I'm here to help you!" he called back, a little miffed that he had to explain himself to the blond even after all their years of knowing one another.

_That's not what I meant. What I meant was, how did you _get _here?_

Sasuke blinked again: "Since when could you read minds?"

_You idiot, you _are_ in _my_ head._

"Oh." He took a moment to get over the feeling of stupidity. "Tsunande sent me here to help you."

_That old hag? I don't need any help. I'm fine._

"Naruto!" Sasuke felt his temper flaring and tried to control it. "This is no time to act tough! If we don't do something about that fox, it's going to break free and wreak havoc over Konoha, just like before!" Silence. He took a deep breath and continued. "Look, I'm not saying you're weak and can't do anything on your own. In fact, you've been keeping him at bay since you got injured last night, haven't you? You're exhausted." Sasuke lowered his head, his voice calming and the corners of his mouth creasing into a frown. "I…would probably never be able to contain something that powerful for so long. But I want to help you! And Sakura does too," he held up the hand with the small teal orb in it. It glowed reassuringly in the blackness around him. "Naruto, let me help. Let _us_ help. We're your friends."

* * *

"…Sasuke?"

Tsunande and Jiraiya jumped and looked over at the bed, the scroll clattering loudly from the man's huge hands as he gaped at his student, who had spoken.

"Naruto…?" he called tentatively.

"Sasuke, what the hell are you doing here?" came the young man's voice again, and Jiraiya's eyebrows pulled together in frustration.

"Is he delusional?" he looked over at his former teammate.

"No, wait," Tsunande held up a hand, leaning forward in anticipation.

"That's not what I meant," he spoke up again, his dark eyes still blank and unaware. "What I meant was, how did you _get_ here?" Then, after a beat: "You idiot, you _are_ in _my_ head."

"Is he actually conversing with Sasuke?" Jiraiya blinked.

"That old hag? I don't need any help. I'm fine."

The silver-haired man quickly turned his eyes back down to his work, hiding a chuckle by rustling a few papers together loudly. Tsunande's eyebrow twitched once, impatiently.

"See if I send anyone in to help him next time," she snarled.

"Let's hope there's not a 'next time', hmm?" Jiraiya tried to smooth it over quickly. It worked: her hazel eyes lost their hard flare and she nodded, pulling another scroll closer to her and started scanning through Yondaime's notes again.

* * *

It was as if the air around him had suddenly turned into water. He could still breathe, but now his movements were heavier and slower, as if being restricted by an invisible force. The darkness itself began to collect noiselessly, and Sasuke could feel it gathering somewhere beyond him. And like a long and flowing drape being pulled away to uncover something, the blackness swirled aside and he saw the entrance to a dark stone hallway, runes carved all the way up along the sides, across the ceiling, and beneath his feet. He passed under the archway and started down the hall, clutching Sakura's orb tightly in one hand again. Down at the end of the hall, a silhouette was waiting for him. One hand extended into the blackness of the tunnel, lit by an aura of red-orange flames, beckoning to him. He followed it, stepped out from the hallway, and stood blinking at the edge of a huge square chamber lit by the red hue of flaming torches mounted in brackets periodically along the stone walls. A hand brushed his shoulder and he turned, careful not to betray an emotion on his face, but his own mind sighing in relief.

Uzumaki Naruto grinned at his best friend, his blue eyes sparkling teasingly. "Miss me?"

* * *

Nara Shikamaru unceremoniously tumbled into the hospital room and looked about wildly, his eyes landing on Naruto's half-sitting figure and his black eyes going wide. Hurrying in after him was his best friend, Akimichi Chouji, and one of the nurses that was insisting that they could not be in there.

"Shut up," Shikamaru whispered brokenly at the nurse's barrage of threats and he stumbled over to Tsunande and Jiraiya, who were giving him puzzled looks. "Naruto… Where's Sasuke?"

The urgency in his voice prompted the hokage to answer: "He's in that bed over there." She pointed to another bed that had been brought in and set up at the opposite end of the room, where Uchiha Sasuke's body lay unmoving, save the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

"And Sakura? Where's she?" he panted.

"Look, sir, I told you--" the nurse started and with a frustrated growl, Shikamaru flung a hand back at her. Something dark slapped across her mouth and she screamed wordlessly, trying to claw at the black strap of shadow that had suddenly stopped her nagging. Tsunande raised an eyebrow and Jiraiya whistled as the nurse ran out of the room in frantic tears. "Where?" he asked again, his voice low and dangerous.

"In a room a few doors down, sleeping," Jiraiya answered him. "Why--"

"Chouji!" Shikamaru turned to the large man that had not moved or flinched through this entire fiasco. "Get someone to help you wheel Sakura's bed in here. Now." He nodded his head and left wordlessly. Shikamaru turned back to the hokage and her partner, looking them dead in the eyes. "Those three can't be separated. Not right now. Not for this."

"How do you know…?" Jiraiya continued to look puzzled.

"You saw something, Shikamaru, didn't you?" Tsunande asked coolly. He nodded, his breathing still a little unsteady, but he was finally calming down.

"I was on the hill. I had a dream. In it, Naruto was fighting a shape engulfed in fire--I couldn't make it out--and then Sasuke was on his left and Sakura was on his right, and…" he shook his head again, rubbing the back of his neck impatiently. "Look, it's already too troublesome, and it'll be even more so if I have to explain it, but…I saw it. I know; those three can't be apart for whatever's happening right now."

Tsunande nodded. "I believe you. Jiraiya, help him move Sasuke's bed to the left side of Naruto's."

Still looking confused, the older man stood and he and Shikamaru rolled the cot across the room and to the left of the bed the blond was resting in. At the same time, Chouji came back with Rock Lee, and he was rolling in a folded up cot while Lee carried a sleeping Sakura in his arms.

"Right there," Shikamaru nodded at his friend, and Chouji unfolded the mattress to the right of Naruto's bed. Lee, not asking but looking almost as confused as Jiraiya, settled the younger woman down onto the mattress. Instantly, Naruto's hands slid from their position in his lap and fell to either side. From his left, Sasuke's right hand moved of its own violation and he rolled onto his side in his sleep as their hands clasped tightly. Sakura rolled onto her left side, facing Naruto, her hand groping. Her and Naruto's fingers met and entwined on the sheets. The people watching finally looked up at one another when the last movement settled.

"What…" Lee slowly shook his head. "Tsunande-sama, will Sakura be alright?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Thanks to Shikamaru."

"Nn," he shrugged and turned to go. "Let me know what happens. Are you staying, Chouji?"

"No," his best friend shook his head. "If you get another vision, I don't want you to be alone."

"If you do see something else, Shikamaru, please come back and let us know," Tsunande watched them go. "And take that shadow-sealing jitsu off that nurse!"

"Ah, yeah, okay," Shikamaru tossed back a lazy wave and he and Chouji were gone. Jiraiya shook his head after them.

"Someone with an IQ over two hundred and ten is bound to develop some kind of strange power," he shrugged. "But what a way for it to appear."

"Lee, she'll be fine," Tsunande promised the worried-looking chunin. "I'll make sure nothing happens to her. But, if you please, we have to continue our research."

"Mm…" Lee nodded and left the room, casting one last worried glance back at the pink-haired girl on the bed. Tsunande sighed and went back to the table where Jiraiya was scribbling down some notes off a thick scroll.

"Those two had better come back soon," she grumbled, rubbing the back of her sore neck impatiently.

"They'll come home soon enough," Jiraiya smiled at her softly and tapped her forehead with the end of his pen. "Just think, after this is over, you can request a vacation and put Naruto in your position for a week."

"After this," she looked over at the three figures, and gave the blond in the center a soft glance, "I think he deserves it for more than a week, don't you?"

"I'm biased, I can't answer that question," Jiraiya grinned back and continued working.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Naruto looked over at him.

"Here, before we go," Sasuke handed him the little orb. The blond took it, and blinked in surprise when the teal sphere unraveled and healing wisps of chakra swirled about him, all up and down her body. He waved his arms energetically.

"Wow! Was that from Sakura?" he beamed.

"Yeah, so don't go wasting it," the raven-haired man nudged his partner. "Let's go."

"Hey, Sasuke?" Naruto's eyes went from excited to afraid. "If…If we can't beat the Kyuubi, I want you to--"

"Don't," Sasuke shook his head, nudging Naruto briefly with his shoulder. "We're going to fix the seal. You're going to be fine. And we're going home. Together."

The blond smiled softly, leaning over and laying his forehead against his partner's shoulder. "Sakura's waiting to welcome us back, right?"

"Right," Sasuke smiled in spite of his usual nature. "So let's end this quickly."

The blond straightened, his eyes once more strong and confident: "Okay," he nodded.

Sasuke nodded back and they broke into a run, speeding across the square room and to the opposite wall, where a wrought-iron cage door sat ajar, as if waiting for them to enter. Unhesitating, they bounded inside, and plunged forward into the darkness.


	30. Chapter 30, part 4

Tsunande leaned back heavily in her chair and sighed, rubbing a hand over her eyes. Jiraiya tossed his pen down and grinned broadly, snapping the old book closed.

"Ah! We've finally got it!" he crowed.

"Are you prepared to perform that jitsu at any moment?" she lifted a blond eyebrow wearily. "We don't exactly know what's going to happen or when they'll get back…"

"All I needed was the reference to the jitsu itself, to find out if it had any side effects," Jiraiya assured, glancing over his notes. "The full seal will most-likely take the users life, but, a mock-up or a replacement shouldn't take more than just their chakra. After I do this, with one or two days of full rest, I'll be perfectly alright."

"And what about the effects to Naruto and Sasuke?" she prodded.

"It won't hurt Naruto, since it's just replacing what's already been there. Sasuke, though…"

Tsunande heard the verbal doubt: "Jiraiya. We can't let anything happen to either of them."

The silver-haired man rubbed the back of his neck anxiously, glancing up at his long-time friend sheepishly. "…if Sasuke doesn't get out of Naruto's body completely before the jitsu is performed, he'll never be whole unless we re-release the seal, which would probably kill Naruto," he explained after a pause.

"So, we run the risk of either a soul-less Sasuke or a dead Naruto."

Jiraiya winced slightly at the hokage's lack of subtlety: "Not looking very good, is it?"

"There's no room for error. What or who else would you possibly need to ensure one hundred percent success?"

"My best bet would be someone who can read chakra wavelengths, so they can make sure Sasuke's completely out of Naruto's body."

Tsunande rose. "I'll go get her, then," she strode out the door.

* * *

They ran down the hall, side-by-side. The walls and ceiling vibrated violently with every roar that emanated from the inner chamber that lay ahead.

"So, what's the plan then?" Sasuke glanced over at his partner.

"You know I was never one for plans," Naruto rolled his eyes.

"We can't just fight this thing with our bare hands, you know."

"Well…_you_ can't."

"Oh, thanks."

"Look, for some reason, I can actually _harm _the Kyuubi! I don't know why!"

"Then shouldn't we use that to our advantage?"

"But…" his eyes grew dark with hopelessness, "I'm running low on chakra. And I have to…" His cheeks suddenly reddened and his eyes flashed; he was back to his bold and annoying self. "Nevermind. I'll do it, all by myself." Sasuke suddenly let out a frustrated cry and stopped running, grabbing Naruto's wrist before the other boy could fly past. The blond yanked to a stop, stumbled, and looked back at his friend angrily. "Hey! What the hell, Sasuke?"

"You're not alone," the black-haired man said harshly, clamping his hand harder on the other's wrist. "Stop talking like no one's ever around to help you!"

"No one _is_ around to--" Sasuke gave him a hard shake. "Ow! Hey!"

"Look at me, Naruto," the Uchiha commanded gruffly, and Naruto grudgingly obliged. Blue eyes met black ones in the torch-lit darkness around them. "I know I wasn't there a lot in the past, but… I want it to be different now. I want to _help_ you. I want to--"

"Protect you," Naruto cut him off quietly and Sasuke slowly released his wrist. "I just want to protect you too, Sasuke. That's all." His blue eyes looked so sad and defenseless. "I don't know what will happen when I--_we_--contain the Kyuubi again. And I don't want you to get hurt or…" he gulped. "Or worse."

"You already protected me, remember?" Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest and gave the other man a scowl. "You got impaled like a dumbass."

"A dumb--"

"I'm not going to die that easily, Naruto," he explained in a softer tone. "I still have something I must do."

"I thought you already killed your brother," the blond looked confused. Sasuke rolled his eyes in exasperation and reached over with one hand, taking Naruto's.

"I still have a job to do," he murmured, looking away from the inquiring blue eyes. "I promised you, that when you became hokage, I would become captain of the Anbu squad so I could…protect you."

"You…were serious?" Naruto gaped and Sasuke felt his face going hot.

"No, I only make promises to shut idiots like you up," he grunted.

"…Hey, Sasuke?"

"Nn?"

"I… Nevermind."

"Oh hell no," Sasuke dropped Naruto's hand and glared at him. "Tell me. Now."

"I'll tell you after we re-seal the Kyuubi," the other man turned back in the direction they were supposed to be going. "Deal?"

Sasuke grunted. "Deal. But don't back out of this one; I'll make you tell me, one way or another."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. I've found I can be very convincing."

"How so?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"…Maybe I would."

Sasuke--not expecting this--groped in silent shock for something to say. Naruto just grinned winningly at him and broke into a run and down the hall once more. Blinking stupidly, Sasuke followed him toward the end: to Kyuubi's den.

* * *

Hyuuga Hinata watched the three closely, her eyebrows drawn together in concentration. "It's faint," she said in her quiet voice, "but Sasuke and Naruto's individual chakra auras just activated."

"Does that mean they're fighting?" Jiraiya asked her.

"No; it'll probably be visible to us when they begin fighting the Kyuubi," Tsunande shook her head. "Any other explanation, Hinata?"

The pale, dark-haired woman shook her head. "Perhaps something is invoking emotional responses from them," she suggested. "Chakra acts up when one is experiencing emotions."

"Ah…ha," Tsunande lifted an eyebrow, hiding a grin. Abruptly, like colored flames, a blue light flickered to life around Sasuke's body, and a yellow one rose about Naruto's. Hinata tensed.

"It's starting," she stated simply.

Tsunande looked over at Jiraiya. "I'm counting on you…" she mumbled. Her friend gave her a reassuring wink, his warm smile calming her too-frazzled nerves.

"You know me. I'll make it work."

* * *

Hollow echoes of water underfoot tapped maddeningly as thousands of dark-haired shinobi darted across the length of the chamber and dodged the nine flailing, orange tails. A super-sonic roar rumbled the very core of the room--Naruto's inner mind--and sent a few of the Sasuke-bunshin flying backwards. In several poofs of smoke, they were gone, and at least a dozen more replaced them. The Kyuubi Kitsune roared in agitation, swinging its tails wildly. Far below, in the shadow of the hallway, Naruto concentrated and beside him, Sasuke performed various hand-seals. He clasped his hands together in the tiger seal, watched Naruto do the same, and then heard the clap of thousands of other pairs of hands following suit. The plan was working, so far so good. But the shadow-clone technique was exhaustive, and Sasuke couldn't give Naruto anymore without passing out. Their knees were shaking, sweat was rolling down their faces, their arms were trembling, their hands were cramping, but still…

"Almost there," Naruto grunted, his brow creasing even more. Ten more Sasuke-bunshin jumped into the fray beyond. The Kyuubi swatted at them all, spitting fire and making horrible wind storms with it's tails. The ground shook continuously, making it hard to stay steady. All they needed was exactly nine strategically-placed bunshin; all the rest were a distraction.

"Naruto, I don't think I'll be able to perform it…" Sasuke sighed heavily, his hands stumbling in their performance of the next seal. He muttered a curse under his breath.

"Do you think…Sakura could help us…?" the blond winced, as just standing was already a huge task, much less talking.

"I don't--ah!" Sasuke felt his strength returning, and beside him, Naruto gave a surprised gasp.

* * *

Hinata turned her gaze to Sakura just moments before a brilliant green aura sprung up around her body. A small smile appeared at the corner of her mouth: "She heard them…"

* * *

The two friends looked over at one another.

"I guess she can after all," Sasuke grinned.

"Good!" Naruto grinned back. "Let's end this!"

"Right," Sasuke nodded. His hands flew now: repetitive seals he had seen only twice in his life--and once when he was very young. Back, on his first mission ever, with Naruto. He pushed the memories aside and his eyes snapped shut as his hands clasped together in the final seal, the dragon.

"Now!" Naruto dispelled all his bunshin save for nine which stood in a circle around a confused-looking demon fox.

"_Suiryuudan no jitsu_!" Sasuke and Naruto and the nine clones screamed out into the darkness. The water on the chamber floor swirled up violently in ten spinning vortexes around the Kyuubi, reared up, and formed into tangible shapes of translucent dragons. The ten jitsus wrapped quickly around each of the nine tails and the largest--the real Sasuke's--gripped the fox's body. Sasuke whirled on Naruto. "Go!"

He didn't need to be prompted. There was already a huge, spiraling mass of blue and yellow and greenish chakra in the palm of his right hand. He ran into the chamber, drawing the hand back, the energy swirling hungrily around him, looking for release. He screamed loudly, almost as loud as the Kyuubi's indignant roars, and leapt up into the air, aiming for the solid chest that lay exposed.

"_RASENGAN!_"

The water dragons evaporated in the heat that exploded up around Naruto and the Kyuubi. Sasuke stumbled as the nine bunshin disappeared and had to shield his eyes when the Rasengan connected. He briefly remembered when that attack had been turned on him, and involuntarily flinched.

"Naruto!" he called, but the deafening explosion took his words and flung them away, knocking Sasuke into the stone wall. He grunted and tried to steady himself, the explosion turning bright yellow and then dulling abruptly. He could make out Naruto's silhouette, framed by the yellow chakra, as he _levitated_ before the still chest of the Kyuubi. The blond turned in mid-air to face his friend as the large demon fox fell unconscious.

"Sasuke…we did it."

"Yeah…" Sasuke nodded, gesturing. "Now get back down here so we can go home."

"I can't do that."

"What!" The ground began to shake once more. Before him, the Kyuubi's many tails swirled back into motion. "What's going on?"

"I can't go with you, Sasuke," Naruto said sadly, still surrounded by that yellow chakra that somehow kept him suspended above the ground. "I have to stay behind for a little while longer, until you're safe outside m body. I have to hold the Kyuubi in while you escape."

"Then what was all that for!" Sasuke gestured at the fox's body, that still had yet to move, even though the tails swept slowly back and forth. "Was that for nothing?"

"No, it's over, don't worry," Naruto smiled. "But that doesn't mean the Kyuubi still can't use its power to escape."

Sasuke hesitated. "You…will come back… Right?"

"As long as you're there on the other side to welcome me home," Naruto beamed at him affectionately. "I'll always come back." Sasuke, not seeing any other way, nodded and turned to leave (even though he wasn't sure how). "Oh, Sasuke?"

The raven-haired man turned back again. "Yeah?"

"About earlier…what I was going to say…" the yellow glow was fading from around Naruto's body. The fox's eyes were slowly beginning to open. "I wanted to tell you something, that I had been feeling for a very long time."

"You can tell me when you get back, right?" Sasuke turned to go again.

"Maybe…" That tone made him freeze. Sasuke looked back at Naruto, who was smiling again, but this time, something was different. It looked like Naruto was… "I love you, Sasuke." And then, the Kyuubi began to rise, the yellow aura around Naruto faded completely, and Sasuke felt himself falling abruptly into unconsciousness: _Naruto, no!

* * *

_

Naruto's body twitched as Sakura lifted her head groggily, looking around. "Tsunande-sama…?" she called sleepily.

"Welcome back," the blond woman smiled in relief. The feeling was quickly shoved aside however when the twitching Naruto let out an angry, blood-chilling roar. Sakura and Hinata both yelped in surprise and Jiraiya jumped, but his hand automatically began forming the appropriate seals.

"Hinata!" he called.

"It's different from before!" she wailed. "This chakra is completely different! It's not Naruto at all!"

Tsunande's eyes snapped over to Sasuke's still-unmoving body: "Dammit. Hinata! Tell me the exact _second_ all his chakra has left Naruto's body, understand?" She whirled on Jiraiya.

"As soon as she says go, it's done," he cut her off before she could bark orders he already knew at him.

"Sakura!" she turned back around. "Get away from--"

"No!" the pink-haired woman yelled over Naruto's angry roars, flinging one arm around his twisting shoulders. "I won't abandon him! Naruto, snap out of it! Come on!" The hand that had been holding his the entire time squeezed tightly, painfully, but she didn't seem to care. Her arm tightened around his shoulders, and as he tried to violently buck her off, Sakura wouldn't budge. She strengthened her grip even more so on him and squeezed her eyes shut: "Sasuke, hurry! Naruto, please calm down!"

"_Rrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaagh!_" the blond snarled and threw all of his weight into trying to fling her off. She held on even tighter.

"_Naruto! Sasuke!_"

"He's out!" Hinata screamed and Jiraiya leapt forward, just as Sasuke lurched up in his bed and Naruto bucked so wildly that Sakura's shoulder was slammed painfully into the wall and leaving his stomach fully exposed.

"_Naruto, no!_" Sasuke cried hoarsely as Jiraiya's palm slammed into the tanned stomach and the roaring abruptly ceased. Sasuke looked down at his hand that was intertwined with his friend's and then up into the face that fell from angry to blank, and then slowly filtered to one of slight confusion. Wide blue eyes glanced around at the anxious, worried faces surrounding him, then trailed down the length of each arm, finding first Sakura's eyes and then Sasuke's. They all waited, collective breaths held, to see if he had something to say after what had just taken place.

"…where…am I…?" he whispered, the confused look on his face deepening. "And…who…are all of you…?"


	31. Chapter 31, part 5

**Notes: **I'm happy this is keeping you all interested. I'm...not quite sure where this idea came from, but, now that it's here, I intend to see it through to its completion. I'm sorry that this chapter is nothing but talking and filler-stuff, but I had to kind of explain what was going on. We'll get back to the regularly-schedualed SasuNaru love shortly.

* * *

"He's sleeping now," Haruno Sakura sighed wearily as she closed the door behind her.

"Is he alright?" Hyuuga Hinata bit her lip nervously, and the pink-haired woman shook her head in response.

"I don't know," she said truthfully. "I wasn't able to get much out of him, besides the fact that…he really doesn't remember us at all. He doesn't even know who _he_ is."

"I've checked his brainwaves and chakra patterns," Hyuuga Neji came into the hall from around the corner. "Everything is fine, and the Kyuubi was successfully sealed, so, there shouldn't be any side-effects."

"But there are," Aburame Shino had followed after the long-haired man. "Shikamaru's devised a theory about this. He's explaining it to the hokage now," his mirrored sunglasses gleamed coldly in the artificial light. "Sakura, I was asked to bring you and Uchiha Sasuke back to the Godaime Hokage's office so you can discuss what to do about the current situation."

"Sasuke left the hospital about an hour ago," Sakura's brow furrowed slightly. "I don't know where he could be."

"Damn," Shino's expression betrayed nothing as he turned and went back down the hall, toward the exit doors. Sakura rubbed her tired, slightly-stinging eyes and smiled thinly up at her medical partner.

"Hinata, can you take over my shift for the afternoon?" she asked.

The white-eyed woman nodded her head: "If you'd like, I can call TenTen in to cover the midnight shift so you can get a decent night's rest."

"That's alright, I'll be back," Sakura waved and hurried off down the hall after Shino. Hinata wrung her hands worriedly, giving her older cousin a slight frown.

"Don't worry about them so much, Hinata," he put a reassuring arm around her shoulders. "Those three are…special. With both Sakura and Saskue helping him, I'm sure Naruto will return to normal in no time."

"I…hope you're right," she gave him a strained smile.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke stood beneath the hot spray of water until every last drop ran ice cold. Then he stepped out, grabbed a towel and wrapped it about his waist, shuffled wearily over to his bedroom, and plopped down on the still-made bed, his wet hair clinging to his neck and face as he stared blankly at the wall and wished he could fall asleep and wake up later, free of this…this _nightmare._ It couldn't be real. In exactly twenty four hours, he had watched his best friend die, come back to life as a demon, got teleported _into _his friend's mind, fought the legendary nine-tailed Kyuubi Kitsune and _won_, had his friend confess his feelings for him and was torn away before he had a chance to voice his own, only to have him finally come home and not _remember_ confessing , much less remember _him_. For lack of a better word, Sasuke was depressed.

Then came the knocking. "Sasuke," a male voice called from beyond the door, "the Godaime Hokage wants to meet with you."

Rolling his eyes, the black-haired man pushed himself off the mattress and stumbled over to the door in still nothing but a towel. He opened it a crack and peered out, letting his agitation show on his face at the caller. Shino held up his hands in self-defense.

"Sorry," he said, "but don't kill the messenger."

"Any idea what this is about?" Sasuke lifted an eyebrow.

"They want to discuss what's going on and what's going to happen to Naruto."

"They?"

"Shikamaru and Sakura are with her."

"Nn," Sasuke closed the door and went back to his room to change. Shino, unruffled about having a door slammed in his face, shrugged and left to something more fitting with his time. Like observing the sleeping patterns of cicadas or something.

* * *

"You're late," Tsunande spoke over her tea cup. Sasuke dropped himself into an armchair and didn't even bother to retaliate. "Now, Shikamaru, could you please present the data you showed me earlier to Sakura and Sasuke?"

"Yeah, yeah," the black-haired jounin stood, looking slightly irked that he had to do something twice. "First, let's go over the data from the past twenty four hours. Sasuke, you were with him in the beginning; tell us what happened."

He shrugged. "We defeated the two rival clan ninjas without any trouble, but were not aware of a third party. This person attacked us on our way back to the checkpoint where we agreed to meet Neji and Kiba, and ended up…" Sasuke gulped softly. "He was run through. I tried to fend off the enemy, but Naruto came back as the Kyuubi--"

"As the embodiment of the Kyuubi's aura or its true form?" Tsunande cut in.

"I don't know," Sasuke ran a hand back through his still-damp hair. "It was Naruto, but his chakra and aura were that of the Kyuubi."

"That's most likely the time that the outer seal was erased," Shikamaru spoke up. "To allow the Kyuubi's regenerative powers through quickly."

"Of course, Naruto only thought about things halfway through," Sakura put a hand to her forehead.

"That aside," Tsunande waved a hand, urging them to move on, "we know that after the enemy was defeated, Sasuke, Neji, and Kiba all brought Naruto back here for treatment."

"So, Sakura," Shikamaru prompted, "what happened then?"

"Well," her eyebrows creased together in a frown, "when they brought Naruto into the ward, Hinata was already trying to help the self-regenerative process along, but was meeting fierce resistance from the Kyuubi's aura. I took over for her, brought Naruto into the emergency room, and contacted Tsunande-sama."

"Then Sakura and I redirected the Kyuubi's chakra back into the seal, but that's when we discovered it had been partially erased," Tsunande informed them. "And Jiraiya and myself had to remake the seal from the Yondaime Hokage's notes."

"Meanwhile, I went inside Naruto's body to help him battle the Kyuubi," Sasuke slowly became active in the conversation. He knew he had to explain what happened, anyway. "And with some help from Sakura, he and I used a combination of the shadow-clone technique and the water dragon jitsu to hold the Kyuubi in place, and then Naruto used Rasengan on it."

Tsunande actually whistled in appreciation. Shikamaru grunted, but leaned over with his hands in his pockets so he could look straight into the raven-haired man's eyes. "Alright, you subdued the Kyuubi and then left Naruto's body so the seal could be properly replaced. Did he recognize you while you were there?"

"Yeah, he…" Sasuke started, but then his breath caught in his throat: _'I love you, Sasuke.'_

"But then, when he woke up, he didn't remember anything at all. Not even his own name," Sakura's stare grew bothered. "That's what I don't understand."

"What exactly did he say to you, Sasuke?" Shikamaru turned to the other man in the room.

Sasuke looked down at his hands clasped in his lap and tried not to blush. "He said…that he had to keep the Kyuubi contained until I could escape, and that he _would _come back, but…but he sounded uncertain about something. I couldn't ask, because that's when I was pulled back out by something."

"It was Sakura," Tsunande explained gently. "Naruto was indeed containing the Kyuubi until you could escape, but it was trying to get away from him the whole time. Sakura held him down and called you back." She gave her student an affectionate smile, and the pink-haired woman blushed and shook her head quickly.

"I didn't do anything…" she mumbled.

"Regardless, it's done," Shikamaru stood and began to pace the length of the room. "Naruto's back, albeit missing his memory, and we really don't know why."

"Shino said you had a theory about it," Sakura watched the tall, lanky ninja move fluidly back and forth.

He shrugged: "It's just something I was thinking of when I heard about everything that was happening. Naruto had to battle the Kyuubi by himself for a good amount of hours, right?"

"At least five," Saskue estimated. "One hour to return to Konoha, and almost four for your examination and chakra reversal process."

"So, we could assume then, that he had to use all of his personal chakra--separate from the Kyuubi's--in order to fight," Shikamaru spoke carefully. "Which means, in theory, he had to dive into his inner reserves, his inner strength. Which possibly affected the chakra patterns, in this case, tied specifically to memory."

"So, what you're saying," Sakura blinked at him, "is that because Naruto had to depend on his own strength to fight something so powerful for so long, he sacrificed his own memories to give himself more power?"

"I think so, yes," Shikamaru nodded.

"It's a logical explanation," Tsunande leaned forward in her chair, clasping her hands and propping her chin on them. "And is most-likely true. Today, when we gave Naruto a reflex test, his skills were completely jumbled. Parts of his own body refuse to cooperate, which means he must have sacrificed those areas of control for the strength to fight the Kyuubi."

"Will they ever come back?" Sakura bit her lip worriedly.

"Oh yes, I'm sure they will," the older woman waved a hand dismissively. "With each day he rests, Naruto will continue to regain his own personal chakra, and those areas will begin to mend themselves."

"What about his memory?" Saskue asked.

"A memory is slightly different," the hokage frowned. "You can repair the pathways of a memory, but you can't remake the memories themselves. Naruto will have to recall everything on his own, on his own time."

"So, we just have to wait," Sakura looked relieved.

"Yes, but, there is a possibility that without the right methods, Naruto will never remember certain things at all," Tsunande closed her eyes, looking slightly upset. "Right now, it's like we have all of his past laid out in front of us, and we could easily pick and choose what memories to reinforce so that they'll come back to him, and what memories to keep away so we could possibly shield him from pain."

"But then…he wouldn't be the same Naruto," Sasuke scowled. "There has to be a way to bring all of his memories back, both good and bad, without putting him through the exact same situations again." Tsunande was giving him a pointed look. "…what?"

"There is a way, Sasuke," she spoke softly, deliberately. "If we keep him around someone who has the same memories he does, or ones very closely-related, that very person's presence will remind him constantly of everything he was before the accident, and eventually, all of his memories will return."

"And…" Sasuke gulped softly, "is there anyone…like that?"

At this, Tsunande rolled her eyes and Sakura leapt to her feet. "You!" she cried excitedly. "Sasuke, you and Naruto have been on the same team for years! You two are best friends! You _must_ have large and important memories tied to one another!"

"Don't forget yourself, Sakura," Sasuke rose, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're important to him too."

"But," she smiled at her friend in mock exasperation, "not as important as you. Trust me, Sasuke."

"Then it's settled," Tsunande leaned back in her chair, hiding a smirk lingering on her face. "Uchiha Sasuke, your new mission is to accompany Naruto until he fully regains his memory."

"What--" Sasuke jumped.

"Right, now that that's settled, I'm off," Shikamaru shrugged and shuffled out of the office.

Sakura followed him out, her grin not visible to her shocked partner. "I might tell Hinata to call TenTen in after all, is that alright, Tsunande-sama?"

"Yes, you deserve it," she nodded.

"Hey! Don't I get a say in this?" Sasuke yelled as Sakura left the office, giggling.

"No, you don't," the blond woman's eyebrows drew together in a frown. "This is a direct order from the hokage. Or," she lifted an eyebrow, "do you _not_ want to help Naruto regain all his memories?"

Sasuke flinched and withdrew from the argument He knew he had lost from the get-go, anyway: "Fine."

"Report in every morning, ten am. sharp," she ordered and he nodded, leaving the office without another word. Tsunande rummaged through the papers on her desk, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.


	32. Chapter 32, part 6

He sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his head and feeling the bandages, then looking puzzled. Haruno Sakura took in a deep breath to calm her nerves, settled a smile onto her face, and stepped into the room, breakfast tray in hands.

"Good morning," she chirped, watching him jump and feeling something twinge in her chest. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Good…" he spoke hesitantly, one hand still resting on the back of his head, where the bandages wrapped tightly over the blond hair. "…where…?"

"The hospital, remember?" she set the tray on the desk next to him and smiled again, lifting the stethoscope from her neck and fitting the buds into her ears. "Now, sit up straight and hold still, I have to check your heart and your breath rate, okay?"

* * *

He nodded and let her slip the cold dial past the open neck of his shirt and press it against his chest. He watched her pretty teal eyes unfocus as she listened to his heart beating, and in that instant, he caught a glimmer of worry on her usually-smiling face. 

"Are you sad, miss?" he asked after she pulled away, and she jumped, startled by the question. "Every day you've come in here so far, you're always smiling, but then, sometimes, I can see the pain in your eyes…" He looked down at the hands lying placidly in his lap. "I may have known you before I lost my memory, and I'm sorry if that's what's bothering you."

"You honestly…don't remember anything?" she asked timidly, as if she weren't supposed to be talking about it.

"I'm sorry," he shook his head.

* * *

Sakura fought to suppress the tears that threatened to well up inside her. She gave him another smile, this one a bit shaky. "It's not your fault; it'll come to you in time. Now then," she pulled the tray off the table and handed it to him, her smile growing, "eat something. Today's an important day." 

"Important?" he let her set the tray in his lap and then picked up his fork, his stomach giving a hungry rumble.

She chuckled softly to herself as he began to inhale the breakfast: "You have a visitor, and he'll be the one taking care of you from now on."

"You mean, I'm free to leave the hospital?" he gulped down the egg-and-toast combo he had just shoved into his mouth.

"The hospital, yes," she nodded, "but you have to stay with him at all times. It's under the orders of our hokage."

"Hokage?" he swallowed another mouthful. "What's a hokage?"

Sakura suddenly clenched a hand to her chest, where a sharp stabbing pain had forced her to pull away from the blond in the hospital bed. _'Just you wait! One day, I'm going to be hokage, and be recognized by this entire village!'_ Opening her mouth, Sakura let out a small, choked gasp, and abruptly shook her head, turning and running from the room before she could cry in front of her former teammate.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke turned the corner and suddenly found himself on the floor, someone sobbing hysterically in his lap. 

"Sakura!" he recognized her pink hair. "What's the matter?"

Her head snapped up and he inwardly cringed at the heartbroken look in her eyes. "Sasuke! Oh, Sasuke! He…!" she shook her head and cried harder, clenching her fingers into his vest and laying her forehead on his shoulder. "I can't believe Naruto…!"

"Hey, calm down," he gave her a timid hug. "Look, everything's going to be fine. We're going to help Naruto get through this, okay?"

"Hey, are you alright?" a familiar voice called and Sasuke looked up at the speaker. The blond in the sleep clothes had shuffled out of his room and after the nurse, looking extremely concerned. His eyes caught the other man's and he looked suddenly guilty. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset her. I just asked a question, but I didn't think…"

"Oh my, what's happening here?" another voice came into the mix, and Hyuuga Hinata knelt beside Saskue and the sobbing woman.

"She's just upset, that's all," Sasuke explained, helping Sakura to her shaky feet. "Could you…?"

"I'll take her home. Ino and Lee are terribly concerned about her anyway," Hinata nodded and put a comforting arm around Sakura's trembling shoulders. "Come on. I'll tell the doctor you're on sick leave, okay? At least for just a few days." They walked off. The blond looked over at Sasuke again, looking even more ashamed.

"I'm…really sorry I upset her," he mumbled.

"It's not your fault," Sasuke shrugged it off. "Now then, do you remember your name?"

His brow crinkled in concentration: "No…but I have heard a couple of people call me something."

"What was it?"

"Naruto."

Sasuke nodded: "Does that sound right to you?"

"I'm…not sure."

"Alright, fine," he crossed his arms over his chest. "Do you remember my name?"

"No…" he looked even more helpless, if that were possible. Sasuke tried to ignore the painful skip his heart did.

"That's fine too. You'll remember soon enough."

"You mean, you're not going to tell me your name?"

"Nope. Not until you remember it."

"Well that's just stupid," Naruto made a face and Sasuke shrugged again.

"But that's how it'll work. You don't have to worry about a name, anyway," he told him, "I've been assigned to escort you around Konoha."

"Konoha…?" he raised a confused eyebrow.

Sasuke sighed: "Your town. The town we live in."

"Oh…" he said dejectedly.

"Here," the black-haired man tossed him a bundle of clothes. "Go get dressed and lets check you out of this place."

"Right…" the slightly-confused look did not fade. He simply took the clothes and shuffled back into the room to change. When the door shut, Sasuke let out a shaky sigh and leaned against the wall, covering his face with both hands.

"Oh god…" he whispered weakly.

"Don't give up, Uchiha."

He jumped a bit and looked over to his left. Inuzuka Kiba strode up to him, minus Akamaru, for once (the hospital wouldn't allow animals inside). "What do you want, Kiba?" he sighed wearily.

"Just came in to check on him, that's all," the man with the messy hair gave a careless shrug and crossed his arms, leaning back against the wall next to Sasuke. "You look beat."

"I'm fine."

"I heard about what happened to Sakura."

"Well, for your information, I haven't broken down crying or anything."

"Look," Kiba sighed, "I was just worried about you and him, okay? No hard feelings."

Sasuke gave him a side-glance: "That's all, huh? You usually don't care about anything except your dog."

"Hey, ow!" the other man scowled. "I have feelings too, okay? I know something of what you're feeling." His yellow eyes grew dark as he began to recall something. "There was this one time, where Hinata's father locked her up in her house because she failed a mission with Shino and I. We didn't hear from her for almost a month, and I was going out of my mind, wondering if she was okay or when I could see her again."

"…what happened?" Sasuke gave in to his curiosity.

"After a while, her father saw that he _had_ to let her go back out or else she couldn't improve and get better with her missions," Kiba shook his head. "But…at the time, I was so, so worried about her. So…" he looked up and met Sasuke's eyes, "I kind of know what you're going through. And I wanted to tell you…don't give up on him. Even if you think you'll never get him back, even if you lose all hope about his memory ever returning, don't give up." He straightened abruptly. "Naruto needs you to help him, to be his light. If you're not there for him, no one will be."

The door beside them opened and Uzumaki Naruto stepped out into the hall, dressed in black training pants and a black mesh shirt, covered by an unzipped black and orange jacket. "Oh," he blinked at the new person. "Hello…"

"Name's Kiba," the wolfish man extended a hand and the blond took it, looking slightly relieved.

"Oh good, you actually told me your name," he laughed.

"Don't worry about this one," Kiba gestured over his shoulder at Sasuke with a devilish grin, "he's just always got a stick up his ass."

"Shut the hell up and go already, Kiba," Sasuke growled.

"I see what you mean about that stick," Naruto winked back and Kiba chuckled, ignoring the death glare drilling into the back of his head. He clasped Naruto's hand again, and pulled him forward into a brief, one-armed hug. Naruto blinked in surprise.

"He's always like that…except when he's around you," he whispered to the blond, then pulled away and beamed. "Good to see you're alright though, Naruto," he laughed it off casually and turned to go. "I'd stay and chat, but, Akamaru's waiting outside, and I've gotta take him for a walk. Well, see ya!"

They watched as Kiba tossed a wave over his shoulder and strode casually out of the hospital, tucking his hands into his pockets and whistling a random tune as a huge white dog jumped on top of him, barking its excitement. Sasuke sighed and shook his head.

"That guy's as random as always," he looked over at Naruto, who had his head lowered in thought. "Hmm? You okay, Naruto?"

"I…he…" he slowly shook his head and turned his head up, grinning. "It's nothing. He just, well, he was funny. I liked him."

"You two are actually pretty good friends," Sasuke led him to the front desk. "He had come to see how you were."

"We're _old_ friends?" Naruto pressed as Sasuke signed his release papers.

"Well, I suppose," he handed the pen back and gestured for Naruto to follow him. "You've been on missions together, and you're both fairly similar. Except, well, you're not as annoying as he is."

Sasuke flashed him a grin as they headed out the doors and Naruto froze for a moment.

* * *

'**_You're annoying, _usuratonkachi._'

* * *

_**

"_U…sura…tonkachi.._?" he stammered out, then blinked as he realized what that meant. "H-Hey! Did you just call me…?"

"Hmm?" Sasuke turned around. "What are you standing around for, _dobe_? Don't you want to see your apartment?"

* * *

'**_Hmph, hey, _dobe_, don't even bother with that technique. You'll never get it.'

* * *

_**

"What did you just call me?" he blinked.

* * *

'_**Oh yeah? Just watch me, ...!'

* * *

**_

"…" Naruto's mouth moved but no name came forth. He sighed in frustration and rubbed the back of his head. "Argh, I'm never going to remember anything!"

"You will, just give it time," Sasuke said gently and extended a hand to him, offering a reassuring smile. "After all, we are going to your house today. I'm sure you'll remember lots of things while you're there. Now, come on."

Naruto nodded and took the offered hand, and as their fingers touched, he heard his own voice ring out this time. And at the words, he blinked in shock.

* * *

'_**I love you, …'**_


	33. Chapter 33, part 7

Sasuke didn't open the door. He stood facing it for a minute or so, debating, then turned around and held out the single silver key to his companion.

"Here."

Blinking, Naruto took the key from him and came forward, placing it in the lock and turning it. The tumblers fell away with a sharp click and he grabbed the doorknob hesitantly and pushed the door open.

* * *

'_**Hey, house! I'm home!'

* * *

**_

"Welcome home, Naruto," Sasuke stepped inside past him and turned back to look into the other man's eyes."I left everything just the way you had it before the mission."

"Mission…?" the blond came inside as well.

"Yeah," Sasuke began to venture deeper into the house. "That's where you…you lost your memory."

* * *

'_**Made…it…'

* * *

**_

"What was the mission?" Naruto called after the taller man, who had disappeared down a short hallway.

"Nevermind that for now," he called back. "Focus on the house. See if you can remember anything."

Confused blue eyes lifted to the walls and he began to scan the room for any tell-tale signs of his past. Up ahead somewhere, Sasuke waited for him patiently.

* * *

'_**Rotten milk again. Haven't you learned? That's why you get sick all the time.'**_

'_**Like I can help it. I didn't choose to live by myself.'**_

'_**Naruto! This place is a mess! Don't you ever clean up after yourself?'**_

'_**Why should I? It's not like anyone's here to punish me if I don't.'**_

'_**You could…live with me, you know.'**_

'_**I would never ask you to take pity on me.'**_

'_**It's not pity! I just can't stand watching you live this way! I just…look, what I'm trying to say is… You don't have to be alone anymore, okay? Just, please, come live with me…'**_

'_**Thank you, …. But, I can't abandon this place. It's…too important to me. It…reminds me, every single day, of all the trouble I've brought to Konoha. I'm sorry, but, I can't just leave.'

* * *

**_

Shaking his head, Naruto listened to the montage of voices that attacked his brain as he examined the front-half of the house. Two voices he recognized, and one he didn't: the pink-haired nurse had been the girl scolding him for not cleaning; the final voice, belonged to the dark-haired man sitting on a small bed in the final room. He looked up when Naruto entered, and stood.

"Remember anything?" he asked.

"Mostly things about being alone," the blond replied, looking down at his feet. "Did I…live alone?"

"Yeah, you did."

Naruto nodded: "Do you?"

Sasuke was slightly taken aback by the question, but he answered anyway. "Yes, I live alone too," he put his hands in his pockets.

"I…remembered something," he spoke tentatively. "I brought trouble to Konoha, right?"

"You were a very big prankster when we were younger," Sasuke grinned, "but nothing illegal, if that's what you're asking."

"Is there…anything else? Something bigger?"

"Bigger?"

"Yeah, like, did I lie to everyone, or hurt a lot of people or something?" The blond suddenly looked very afraid. His blue eyes swelled with tears of frustration and helplessness and he bit his lip to keep from pouting. Slowly, his body began to tremble. "If I…hurt people, then, then I don't want to remember it!"

"Naruto…" Sasuke spoke calmly, hoping to reel the man's emotions back in check. "You're not a bad person. People just misunderstand you sometimes, that's all. And that's not even your own fault, it's theirs."

"But…I…" he was sobbing now, trying to hold the tears back physically by pressing his palms to his eyes. The black-haired ninja watched his friend come undone, feeling slightly helpless himself. Not knowing what else he could do, he pulled the blond into his arms and began stroking a hand back through his mess of blond hair.

"Hey, everything will be fine," he whispered, shushing the crying man soothingly. "You'll understand what I mean when you remember everything."

"I don't _want_ to remember everything if I'm going to be shunned or hated!" Naruto pounded a fist against the solid chest he had been cradled against. "I'd rather stay like this!"

"…would you sacrifice all of your other memories just to hide yourself from a little pain?"

At the sound of his voice, the blond looked up into the other man's face. "Why not? Are they that important?"

Sasuke flinched, feeling his own tears of frustration welling up inside him, but he forced them down and continued to stare into the tear-filled blue eyes of his companion. "They are important, but not just to you. For Sakura--your nurse--and Kiba, and all your other friends too. What happens to the people that do remember who you are?"

"And you?" he pressed. "What would you do if I never remembered anything again?"

With a heavy sigh, Sasuke pulled away, and Naruto felt his body ache for the contact again. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that was something he had always wanted from the dark-haired man, but…

"If you never remembered, Naruto," he said quietly, "I think I'd leave."

* * *

'_**He's gone! …'s gone, he left last night! Naruto, please, find him; bring him back home!'**_

'…_**! Why are you doing this? Why are you turning your back on us?'**_

'_**Because, Naruto, you…'**_

'_Don't die.'_

'…_**are…'**_

'_I'll never let you surpass me.'_

'…_**my best friend…'**_

'…_**!"

* * *

**_

Again, his mouth formed the name, but the words did not come out. Naruto looked helplessly at the other man standing in the small, cramped bedroom. Their eyes met.

* * *

'_**This is the Valley of the End. Fitting, isn't it?'**_

'_**I'm taking you home, …! I don't care if I have to break all of your arms and legs to do it!'**_

'_**While I was playing buddy-buddy with all of you…'**_

'_That man…'_

'…_**I could have obtained so much more power.'**_

'_I swore, I wouldn't die until I killed…that man…'_

'_**Stop! Why are you doing this, …?'**_

'_My brother.'_

'_**Because Naruto, you are my best friend.'

* * *

**_

"I suppose, then," Naruto whispered shakily, the ghost of a grin twitching at the corner of his trembling lips, "I'll have to bring you back again." Sasuke blinked in shock.

* * *

'_**There it is.'**_

'_**This is it, Sakura. No turning back.'**_

'_**I won't run away. This time, we'll bring … back together.'

* * *

**_

"You…remember…?" he gasped slightly.

"Snippets," the blond's brow furrowed. "That girls name, the pink-haired one, is Sakura, right?"

"Yes…" Sasuke commanded his heart to calm down.

"She and I…went looking for you, after you left…" his head bowed slightly. "We were…so worried about you."

"Do you remember that we…?"

He nodded: "Because…you were my best friend."

"Well," Sasuke struggled to put on a passive face, but knew he had failed miserably, "I still am. That never changed, even after all that time we spent apart."

"Why…did you go? Because of your brother?"

"…you remembered that, too."

"Sorry…"

"Don't be," he smiled thinly, trying to decided whether or not he should be happy or upset. "That's why I left, yes."

"And…did you kill him…?"

Sasuke turned to the door and started walking back up the hall, hands slipping into his pockets. "I told you the answer to that once before."

"But, I didn't remember that part!" he wailed.

"Then, you're just going to have to keep on remembering things until you do, then."

"Ah! You sneaky bastard!"

Sasuke laughed, this slightly more-common ground making him feel worlds more comfortable then that awkward exchange of memory conversation just now.

"Come on. Time to go."

"What? There's more?"

"You don't think this was the only place you hung out, did you, _dobe_?"

"Don't call me that!"

* * *

'**_Oi, _dobe_.'_**

'_**I said don't call me that, you bastard!'**_

'**_Fine then, _usuratonkachi_.'_**

'_**Dammit, I'm going to kill you!'**_

'_**Oi, Naruto! Don't stand on the desk! Get back in your seat and pay attention!'

* * *

**_

"KONOHAMARU!"

The three young teenagers that had been giggling in the hallway jumped and looked back over their shoulders. The boy, who was apparently their leader, flashed his two friends a toothy grin (he was missing one of the teeth on the top row) and jetted.

"Run!" he darted in between the two men that had stepped into the hallway and out the double doors of the academy. His friends turned and took different routes. An older man stomped out of one of the doors on the side and growled in frustration, holding a rolled up paper in one clenched fist.

"There's never a peaceful generation," he sighed wearily, leaning against the wall.

"What's the matter?" Sasuke called gamely. "You found someone even more troublesome then Naruto?"

"Huh?" Naruto blinked. The man cracked one eye open to glare at them, then jumped off the wall in surprise and rushed over, grabbing the blond in a tight hug and grinning broadly.

"Naruto!" he beamed. "I'm so glad to see you're alright! I heard what happened from Kakashi-sensei, but I still hadn't gotten time off to come see you, I'm sorry!"

"Er…" Naruto glanced over at Sasuke, who nodded. "It's okay?"

"Here, stand, let me see you," the man abruptly let go and clapped the blond's shoulders strongly. "You look just fine! That's good. Can you remember anything yet?"

"Uh, not really," Naruto glanced away uncertainly, then flinched as he was bopped on the head with the rolled-up paper. "Ow!"

"You should be concentrating on getting your memory back instead of just goofing around!" the older man scolded and thwapped the blond with his paper again. "Honestly, is that all you ever do?"

"Oh, come on, Iruka-sensei, give me a break!" Naruto pouted and then clapped a hand over his mouth, whirling to look at Sasuke, who nodded back, grinning. "I…remembered!"

"Then maybe all you need are a few more good licks," Iruka waggled the paper threateningly, his mouth in a frown but his eyes twinkling with happiness. "Come back here if you ever get stuck on anything, and I'll beat some memory into you."

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei!" it was the blonde's turn to wrap the other man in a tight hug. "I'll come visit every day!"

"You say that now, but you won't," the teacher's smile grew tired. "That's okay, though. At least I know you're alright. Is he taking care of you?" His eyes skipped over the smaller shoulder to the figure standing a couple of steps away.

"Yeah, he's helping me," Naruto grinned.

"Good," he nodded at the taller man. "Now, you two go along. I've gotta find Konohamaru."

"He's probably hiding in that patch of bushes by the monkey bars in the recess area," the blond shrugged and this time jumped in his excitement. "I remembered again!"

"And thank you for that nice piece of information," Iruka raised an eyebrow. "I wonder if that's where you hid all those times you ran out of my classroom."

"Eh-heh," the blond rubbed the back of his head nervously, then waved as Iruka went past them and out the academy doors. He whirled on Saskue, his face lit with excitement. "I remembered things!"

"Good," Sasuke turned to go. "There's one more place to take you. It's lunchtime, after all."

"Where are we going?" Naruto asked him.

"Your favorite place to eat," the raven-haired man grinned and pushed open the doors.

"AHA!"

"Aww, man! How'd you find me, Iruka-sensei?"

"It doesn't matter! Get back in that classroom!"

_Thwap!_

"Owwww! Okay, okay, I'm going!"

"Whoops!" Naruto laughed nervously. "I'm glad it wasn't me, though."

"For once," Sasuke added as an afterthought, nudging the blond's arm slightly with his own. "Let's go."


	34. Chapter 34, part 8

The heaping bowls were placed in front of them just minutes after they both sat down. Sasuke nodded his thanks, mumbled a quick '_itaidakimasu_', broke apart his chopsticks, and began to eat. Naruto observed him closely for a moment, then mimicked all the dark-haired man's movements. As soon as he ate his first bite of the food, his blue eyes lit up and he quickly picked up the bowl in one hand and plunged his chopsticks into the steaming ramen, trying to get all the noodles at once.

* * *

'_**Ne, ne, Iruka -sensei! Can we please go out for ramen? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?'

* * *

**_

"I haven't been here in a while," he gulped down his last mouthful and set the plate down, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

"Not since you were promoted," Sasuke shook his head and continued to eat his ramen.

"_Oyaji_! Can I have another?" Naruto waved energetically at the old cook by the stove and turned his eyes back to Sasuke.

"Promoted?"

"Yeah," the Uchiha picked up the bowl in both hands and sipped the remaining broth from its bottom. "To the Anbu Squad. My job," he added, as if that would help. Naruto scrunched his nose and tried to remember what the Anbu was before asking.

"But…I don't really want to be an Anbu, do I?" he finally spoke up as the second-helping was set in front of him.

"No, although you were happy you got in," Sasuke admitted.

"One step closer kind of thing?"

"You could say that."

"What's the highest-ranking official in Konoha?"

"That would be our hokage," he pointed and the blond turned his head to look up, ramen noodles dangling from his mouth. Five stone faces stared back impassively at him, painstakingly carved high up in the mountain face overlooking the entire village.

"She's new," he remarked.

"She's our current Godaime Hokage, Tsunande," Sasuke paid for all three bowls while he explained a hokage's job and Naruto listened intently. When he finished eating and Sasuke finished explaining, they said goodbye to Ichiraku's owner and made their way toward the town square.

"The job sounds boring," Naruto made a face.

"It all depends on how you do it, I suppose," Sasuke shrugged.

"Well, if I were…" he blinked. "…_When_ I'm hokage, I'll have assistants to do the work for me, right?"

Sasuke froze, turning surprised eyes to the blond. "Naruto, you…?"

"That's what I really want to be, isn't it?" he grinned. "I want to become the next hokage." The raven-haired ninja could only nod. "I wonder…" Naruto continued, now looking thoughtful, "is that what made Sakura cry this morning? That I…couldn't remember that?"

"Yeah," Sasuke cleared his throat. "It's been your goal, ever since we were kids."

"I see…" his head bowed momentarily, then snapped back up abruptly: "Let's go visit her!"

"What? Now?" the other man blinked.

"Yes now! I feel bad for making her cry," he admitted sheepishly. "I want to see if she's doing better."

"Hmm…that might actually be a good idea," Sasuke nodded. "With the three of us together, you might remember more and more. You're already recovering quickly; that's good," he added with a small smile, and Naruto felt his face redden slightly. "Sakura's house is this way--don't get lost."

* * *

'_**You're okay…that's good…'**_

'_**W-Why…? Why did you do that? Why did you jump in the way?'**_

'**_I…don't know why, _dobe_. My body moved…all on its own…'

* * *

_**

She opened the door, and blinked in surprise when she saw who stood on the other side.

"Naruto wanted to see how you were doing," Sasuke spoke up first and locked eyes with her. His black orbs flickered red very briefly, and she understood. Nodding, both to tell him she knew not to speak his name and at the explanation of their appearance, she opened the door wider to let them inside.

"Lee's on a mission right now," she said apologetically. "He should be back in time for dinner, if you don't mind staying that long."

"We'll see what happens," Sasuke shrugged.

"So, Sakura, are you feeling better? I'm sorry I made you cry," Naruto blurted out, biting his bottom lip eagerly, his hands clenched in his lap.

The pink-haired woman smiled at her friend gently. "It's not your fault, Naruto. I was just…overwhelmed."

"If it helps you feel any better, I know why I upset you now," he said guiltily. "I didn't remember about wanting to be hokage, right?"

"Did you tell him?" she looked at the other man angrily and Sasuke held up his hands in self-defense.

"No," he shook his head. "He remembered it on his own."

"I did!" Naruto grinned proudly. "I've been remembering stuff all day!"

"Good for you!" she beamed back.

"And I thought it'd help the recovery rate if we talked about the different things we did when we were genjin," Sasuke put in.

She nodded. "Yes, constant positive reinforcement is a good way to help any patient."

"You're off the clock, Sakura," the dark-haired man lifted an eyebrow at her. "Give it a rest."

"It's not work if it's to help a friend, right Naruto?" Sakura smiled at the blond and he grinned back.

"Thanks," he said gratefully.

"Now, let's see," her brow furrowed in concentration. "Where's a good place to start off?"

"How about our first mission?" Sasuke shrugged.

"Okay!" she nodded happily and turned her smile on them both. "What I remember about that mission was when Kakashi-sensei made us do that chakra-manipulation training, and Naruto kept falling on his head," her smile turned into a satisfied smirk.

"Hey!" the blond cried indignantly.

"What _I_ remember," Sasuke leaned forward, his elbows pressed to his knees and his hands clasped loosely together, "was when he lost control of his chakra and nearly fell from the damn treetop. And I had to rescue his dumb ass."

"HEY!" Naruto glared at him.

"Well, what do you remember, Naruto?" Sakura successfully intervened before the two of them began swinging insults and fists in her living room. The blond sat down in a huff and closed his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I remember…" he strained for the truth beneath the swirling mass of fog in his mind. He remembered falling out of the tree multiple times, he remembered rivaling with someone to reach the top of the tree by manipulating his chakra flow into the soles of his feet. He could feel the cold air on his skin, the sweat rolling down his forehead in bullets, his breath coming out in harsh, ragged gasps. But he couldn't just say that, because then Sakura and the black-haired ninja would think he was just copying what they had said. No, it had to be something related to that, but totally from his own memory. He scrunched his eyes closed and searched harder, sifting through muddled, half-visible memories, feeling them and testing them for validity. "I remember…"

_Chakra-manipulation… Losing control…

* * *

_

_**The white needles gleamed in his vision just before his eyelids surrendered to the weight that dragged them down. There was a commotion, a hit connected, and he heard Haku grunt.

* * *

**_

"Haku…" he mumbled through frozen lips, but he couldn't stop. It was as if this memory had lunged out at this chance, it _wanted_ to be recalled--it was _important.

* * *

_

'_**You're such…a pain, Naruto…'**_

'_**You did it, Sa…! You--'

* * *

**_

His eyebrows pulled together in concentration: "Sa…"

* * *

**_The needles, oh god the needles, they were _all over his body_. They stuck up from his arms and legs, the joints of his knees and elbows, the hollow and curve of his white neck that suddenly looked so _fragile_ with the little red streamers of blood running down the soft-looking skin. Scratches marred his face and bare flesh. A little dribble of the horrible _redness_ spilling from the corner of his mouth as he turned his head slowly, so very slowly, and gazed back at him with dull, dead eyes.

* * *

_**

"…Naruto?" Sakura looked at his hunched figure in concern. Sasuke held up a hand, stopping her. He watched the shaking figure quietly, as if waiting for something important to happen.

* * *

'**_Look at yourself, _dobe_…'_**

'_**Wh-Why? You…protected me!'**_

'_**Who knows…' The grim smile was beautifully sickening on such a pale, porcelain face. 'In fact, I hated you…'**_

'_**What…? But, why! Why?--'

* * *

**_

"Why did you protect me?"

Both of them jumped at his voice, so monotone but so filled with the _emotion_ of whatever he was remembering.

"Sasuke…?" Sakura glanced over at the other man. He kept watching Naruto, his face impassive but his heart thudding wildly in his chest: _He's remembering the time I--

* * *

_

'**I didn't ask you to!_'_**

'…**_my body moved of it's own accord…_usura…tonkachi…'**

**_He fell backward, all that lithe grace he admired gone from the limp figure. He didn't know he was running, _lunging_ forward until the dark-haired boy collapsed into his arms and the two of them hit the cold ground. _**

'_**Sa…ke!'

* * *

**_

"Sa…ke…" Naruto's eyes began to fill with warm, large tears.

* * *

'_**That man…. Brother…'**_

'_His name's Uchiha Itachi--one of the missing-nins of Konoha Valley. He left the village after he--'_

'_**Until I killed him… I…don't want to die…just like this…'**_

'_Hmph, foolish little brother. Nearly six years, and still you have not improved.'_

_**A trembling hand slowly lifted from his side, the pain of the movement and the knowledge of what he was saying reflected hauntingly in his dark eyes. The eyes that had saved him.**_

'_**You…' His blue eyes widened. '…don't die.'**_

'_Naruto… I've… I…'_

'…_suke?'_

'_I…killed him…'

* * *

_

"…suke…"

* * *

_**The hand abruptly fell, the shaking fingertips brushing his cheek ever-so slightly before his body spasmed. His head turned up, their eyes locked tightly, roughly, raw emotion spilling out of one and into another, swirling together within him, building and swelling and tightening… His head slipped back, settled to one side, the eyelids dragged closed for what seemed like an eternity. One last simple, fleeting glance, and then, the weight settled. His body relaxed. Wet, wayward strands of his raven black hair feathered across his smooth brow and gently lined his too-pale cheek.**_

'_**Is this the first time you've seen a friend die?' That voice, so soft but so annoyingly arrogant and cocky. 'That is the path of a ninja.'**_

'_**Shut up…'

* * *

**_

"In fact, I hated you too…"

Sakura looked worriedly back and forth between the still-transfixed blond and his dark-haired best friend, who looked as if someone had just, well, died.

* * *

'_**You'll pay…'

* * *

**_

The red aura exploded upward and swirled around him, making Sakura shriek in surprise. Sasuke jumped forward and grabbed Naruto's shoulders, shaking him roughly.

"Naruto, no! Snap out of it! That's enough!"

* * *

'_**I'LL KILL YOU!'

* * *

**_

"Naruto!" Sakura shrieked over the animalistic howl that emitted from the blonde's fanged mouth. Sasuke gripped him tightly to the armchair and glanced back at his other friend.

"Run, Sakura! Get Jiraiya!"

"But!" she flinched as three flame-red aura tails manifested themselves.

"Just go!" he yelled and turned his attention back to the shrieking man. "Naruto, snap the hell out of it now! I'm not dead!"

A fourth tail spiraled into the air, followed closely by a fifth. Sasuke felt the flesh under his arms growing jagged, rough, like coarse fur. He cursed and tried to look into the blue eyes that were supposed to be there, but they had been replaced by almond-shaped oil drops of the smoothest, darkest black.

"Naruto, STOP!" Sakura ran to them both and threw her arms around her friends neck, holding on tightly.

"Sakura!" Sasuke hissed as Naruto's hands--his _claws_--found his arms and raked sharply down from his shoulders to his elbows.

"Sasuke, you have to make him remember something else! He has to focus on another memory!" she winced as the claws came threateningly close. Another tail shot up over her head, and another. Still another one manifested itself between Sakura and Sasuke, as if to force them apart. Eight tails in total swayed angrily about the living room; windows shattered, the door blew open off its hinges, plates, bowls, and vases exploded around them. "_Sasuke!_" Sakura buried her face against Naruto's (the fox's) shoulder, squeezing her eyes shut. Sasuke thought as best he could with all-hell breaking loose around him. He watched the two sets of identical whisker-scar marks reach toward the center of Naruto's face, trying to conceal him in powerful, altering chakra. He watched the dirty-blood-red-coppery fur overtake his blond hair, his narrowed eyes, down the bridge of his nose, and come up along his chin to meet at the mouth. His mouth…

No longer thinking of consequences or what-ifs, Sasuke grabbed the transforming face and pressed his own mouth to the only remaining spot that was Uzumaki Naruto--his lips.


	35. Chapter 35, part 9

**Notes: **I think...this is the chapter before the end. One more chapter after this, and 'Welcome Home' will be complete. You see, I'm going back home for four months, and that means no internet access, so, I won't be able to update. I may as well finish this collection witha bang, huh? I'm glad you're all liking this random story that came from absolutely nowhere, and I hope you'll see it through to its end with me. Thank you for your many reviews--they mean so much to me.

* * *

Haruno Sakura could only watch in first surprise and then horror as Uchiha Sasuke lowered his lips to the writhing figure in his bleeding arms, and as if it had opened a pathway, the Kyuubi Kitsune's aura shot up to the ceiling in one giant pillar of red flames. She let go and flung herself backward all at once, striking the wall with her back and trying to press herself _into_ it as she watched the eight flailing tails curl around that central power spot and spiral inward, joining and becoming nothing more that ravaging flames…that happened to be in the center of her living room. The dark auburn fur (that was the only thing she could think to call it, even though it wasn't that easy to distinguish) that had crept over every inch of Uzumaki Naruto's body halted at the corners of their joined mouths, paused as if some force were pushing back against it, and then, like water could wash away blood, the ugly aura began to recede. It pulled back, brilliant strands of his golden blond hair feathering back down over his forehead, brushing against his closed eyes, and it continued downward, revealing healthy tanned flesh and the traditional black and orange jacket and pants, but the flame pillar was still there around them, keeping her back against the wall.

"Sasuke?" she tried to call to them. "Naruto!"

* * *

He could faintly hear someone calling his name, but he couldn't make out who it was through the blackness surrounding him. Turning slowly in a circle, he tried to figure out where he was, but he already had a guess: _I'm back in Naruto's mind._ Suddenly, there was a sharp crack that drew his eyes down to the red fissure that had appeared between his feet. With a deep rumbling, the ground (what he assumed was the ground, anyway) pulled apart beneath him and Sasuke found himself looking down into a chamber filled with savage flames. They licked up the crevice walls and danced threateningly at his feet, and he felt himself being pulled down into the rift by something…something _powerful_. The fire bore down around him as he descended into their center, but with a gentle glimmer, a yellow chakra barrier fitted itself securely against his own flesh and shielded him from the searing heat. Blinking, Sasuke stopped struggling and let himself be lowered to the chamber floor, and when his feet connected with the stone, all of the flames snapped out of existence. He straightened and surveyed the area around him. _This is…_

"You…you're here!"

He turned to the voice. Naruto stood behind the black iron gates that rose high above them and arched outward, spider-webbing over most of the ceiling. He was gripping the bars with trembling hands, and his blue eyes were wide and scared. Sasuke ran over to him, his feet splashing in the ankle-deep water that covered the floor of the inner room. He wrapped his hands over Naruto's and pressed his face to the bars to look inside--there was nothing in there with him.

"Naruto, where's the fox?" he asked.

**I am here, human.**

Sasuke froze and Naruto shook his head, wrenching his hands free and backing into the darkness of his prison. "Run! You have to run! That monster--it's inside of me! I can't contain it!"

"That monster…has always been inside of you," the black-haired man managed to choke out, his wide eyes rising to Naruto's terrified face. "Since the day you were born, you harbored it inside of you, suffering the pain silently, alone, never knowing, and then never telling anyone when you did find out…"

"I didn't want you to know I was a freak!" he wailed, tears coming to his eyes. "I didn't want you to be scared of me, or turn away! You were the only…!" He realized what he was saying. "…why you? Why is it I remember everything when I think about you?"

"Because, Naruto…" Sasuke reached into the bars with a shaking, unsure hand. "You and I…even though we grew up in different ways, with different lives and different outlooks…we were always meant to be with one another." His own eyes threatened to tear and he smiled helplessly, meeting the other man's eyes. "That's what I realized…while I was gone. That's what made me come back home. To you."

"Sa…" the blond breathed, then grunted in frustration. "I can't remember it! I still can't remember your name!"

"That's okay," Sasuke smiled and his hand steadied. His fingers extended toward the other. "As long as you remember what we've been through. The good as well as the bad." Naruto reached back and curled their fingers together. "All of our memories, the ones we share, bind us together forever. And no matter where we go or whatever happens to either of us, that will keep us connected…"

"…even if I die, I'll always be with you," Naruto finished, gazing up through the bars in wonder. "You said that the first night you became an Anbu."

"I meant it," he nodded.

"And…that's why I joined the Anbu too," the blond continued, his eyes bright with recollection. "I wanted to be with you, even if it was dangerous, even if I wasn't always partnered with you. Just the thought that I _could_ be made me happy." He suddenly chuckled, gulping thickly and his hand tightened, fingers clinging to him like if he let go, the memories would cease to come. "I remember how we fought when we were kids…how I hated you. Or I thought I did."

"Me too," Sasuke nodded, grinning back, his own hand gripping back strongly. "And I was always jealous of the way you lived."

"You were annoyed," Naruto beamed and Sasuke felt his heart thump longingly. He reached into the bars with his other hand and they clasped palms, intertwining strong, sure fingers. "But I was jealous of you too. And I always worked to get better. You pushed me to become stronger…"

"And you pushed me to keep ahead of you."

"Then, you left. And for a long time, I thought it was my fault…" his voice lowered as he recalled the sorrow and pain he had felt for all those years. "It was like…half of me was missing. I was a ghost--I was incomplete. Nothing was the same…and I knew that if I wanted you back, I couldn't wait for you. I had to go and find you."

"I'm sorry I worried you," he whispered and their foreheads pressed together through a gap in the bars. "I had to…I didn't want to…"

"I don't care about any of that," Naruto said roughly. "It's in the past, and now you're here again, with me."

"We're together again," Sasuke nodded, squeezing his eyes tightly shut against the tears that were there and wanted so desperately to fall. "It's my turn to rescue you, Naruto."

"You've…always rescued me," the blond turned his face up and their eyes locked. "I'm just glad that I could finally return the favor."

"_Dobe_," Sasuke shook his head and pushed away from the iron gates, releasing Naruto's hands and looking up at the bars thoughtfully. "Stand back," he muttered and when Naruto retreated, looking slightly confused, he gave the iron gates a swift, strong kick. They rattled and bucked inward, but did not open. "Naruto, do you know how to open these gates?"

The blond shook his head, looking fearful. "It's only been opened once: when I was dying and the Kyuubi got loose."

"Nn…" Sasuke made a face and turned away from the gates, thinking for a moment. Then, quietly, he said: "Naruto."

"Y-Yeah?" Naruto blinked.

"Whatever happens, and whatever's said…don't interfere."

"W-What? What are you--"

"Hey!" Sasuke ignored him, walking toward the center of the antechamber. "I know you're listening, fox! Where are you?"

**Hmph. Insolent human.**

"What are you doing?" Naruto cried from his prison. "Stop that! You'll upset him!"

"I want to ask you some questions, and you're going to answer them for me. Understand?" Sasuke continued to ignore him.

**I could just kill you and spare myself the annoyance.**

"If you kill me now, I'll make sure Naruto dies too," he said back. "And if Naruto dies, you die. Isn't that right?"

**You could do no such thing--**

"I'll kill myself, you damn fox!" Naruto yelled, gripping the bars and jumping up and down angrily. "If you so much as _touch_ him, I'll kill myself right here!"

**Nonsense, I'll be freed.**

"The Yondaime made certain that if your container dies, the seal's power would draw inward and destroy you," Sasuke spoke calmly. "I'm right, aren't I?"

The angry growl was unmistakable: **What are your questions?**

"Why are you blocking the chakra to Naruto's memory?"

**As long as he doesn't remember everything, there will always be a weak point for me to slip through whenever I please.**

"You bastard!" Naruto screeched indignantly. "Give me my memory!"

"The only reason Naruto is able to remember so much here is because he's here, in your chamber, right?" Sasuke pressed.

…**you are much more intelligent then my current vessel.**

"Fucking fox!" the blond kicked the cage in anger.  
"So where's the final part of his memory?" Sasuke wanted so badly to turn his Sharingan on, but knew it would only work against him here.

**I have it.**

"Why is it that you took a memory that pertains to me?"

**You already explained that yourself: the two of you are connected. Every single one of his memories links its way to you. Because he--**

"I SWEAR TO GOD, YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP RIGHT NOW YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

"Naruto, I asked you not to interfere," Sasuke looked back at the red-faced blond, then returned his eyes to the empty chamber beyond. "I don't care about that. What I want to know is, what do you want in exchange?"

**An offer?**

"What will it take to return all of Naruto's memories?" he asked, his temper reflecting in the tone of his voice.

**Freedom.**

"You want to be let out?"

**I want to be free of this forsaken prison.**

"…if I agree to that, are you positive Naruto will get his memory back?"

In response, a blue wisp of chakra twirled into existence before him, circling into an orb the size of his clenched fist. Sasuke looked into it, and a fleeting voice, like from a far-off dream, passed through his head: _'I love you, Sasuke…'_

"Let's make a compromise," Sasuke did not reach for the orb. "Give Naruto his final memory and release him--"

**No. When I manifest, I must have a body to do so. My own has long-since been destroyed.**

"Let me finish." Silence. "Give Naruto his memory back and release him completely, and…you can use my body as your host."

"What the hell are you _insane_?" Naruto finally spoke up again. "You can't do that!"

**You? You'll let me overtake you, body and soul? Fool.**

"How about it?" Sasuke called. "Naruto's memories and his release, for me."

"_You can't do that!_" the blond repeated. "_No! STOP!_"

**Done.**

"_NO!_"


	36. Chapter 36, part 10

**Notes: **Oh my goodness! This chapter suddenly became insanely long, and the story _isn't done! _Look at that! "Welcome Home" _isn't_ over just yet! I hope you enjoy this chapter, though! And sorry it's so long!

* * *

Ice blue flames sprung up around him, rising high, brushing against the ceiling of the chamber. Uchiha Sasuke stood in their center, extending his arms and tilting his head back, opening himself willingly to the Kyuubi. The fire meshed together and formed a sold mass that shaped an angular face, a curved, sinewy body, and nine massive tails. The blue-flame-fox rose high above the man in the center of the room, howling its victory.

"_NO!_" Uzumaki Naruto's shriek was overpowered by the Kyuubi Kitsune's pleased roar. The demon fox swept low in a crouch and then sprang up quickly in an arc, diving down toward Sasuke. It transformed back into blue flames just before it struck him dead center of his chest, and he winced, the burning cold fire seeping rapidly, hungrily into his body. Naruto watched in awed horror as all of the fire swirled around the black-haired Anbu, and abruptly snuffed out as if it had been sucked into his body. There was a long, silent pause. Then, Naruto's gut twisted unpleasantly and he suddenly felt as if he were being jerked forward, _through_ the bars. Blinking, he looked around and saw he was out--on the other side of the gate. He turned back to look and saw Sasuke standing there in his place, half-concealed by the darkness.

"Hurry, Naruto," he spoke softly, carefully. "I don't know how long I can stall the transformation. You have to go back and kill me before I change."

"_That _was your plan?" the blond shouted angrily.

"It was the only thing I could do," he said helplessly, giving a slight shrug. "Go on, get out of here, _dobe_."

"Shut up!" he snapped. "I'm not leaving without you!"

"You don't have a choice." Sasuke raised a hand, creating the path in which Naruto could escape. "Go. Get Sakura to help you. But Naruto, do it quickly; like I said, I don't know how long I can stop the transformation."

"Don't you get it? _I'm not leaving here without you!_"

"…I love you too," he smirked, "_usuraktonkachi_."

"…you…"

* * *

'…_**we did it.'**_

'_**Yeah… Now get back down here so we can go home.'

* * *

**_

A blue aura encircled him, lifting him off the ground.

* * *

'_**I can't do that.'**_

'_**What! What's going on?'**_

'_**I can't go with you, Sasuke. I have to stay behind for a little while longer, until you're safe outside my body. I have to hold the Kyuubi in while you escape.'

* * *

**_

"Remember, Naruto: you have to kill me. Please… I don't want to hurt you or anyone else."

* * *

'_**You…will come back… Right?'**_

'_**Maybe…'

* * *

**_

"No, please! Stop! Don't make me go! Let me stay with you! Let me--"

* * *

'_**I love you, Sasuke.'

* * *

**_

"_SASUKE_!"

* * *

The swirling flames around the two men froze, crystallized, and they continued to stay locked in that dangerous kiss. Sakura blinked, then used the wall to push herself to her feet. Slowly, she stumbled over to them, lifting one hand to try to touch the still fire.

"Naruto…?" she called uncertainly. "Sasuke…?"

The crystal pillar abruptly turned ice blue and began to unwind into eight flowing fox-like aura tails. They suddenly came back to life and lashed about the room, pressing against the confining walls and one of them knocked into Sakura, toppling her to the floor. She watched in a daze as the pillar snapped in half and became the ninth, final tail. Coarse black fur began to sprout from every pore of Sasuke's pale, sweaty flesh. It extended up along the chakra tails and they physically manifested themselves, beginning to knock over furniture and bash wildly against the living room walls, leaving craters in the cement and plaster. The fur rushed up his straining neck, overtook his cheekbones, chin, and nose, as his arms and legs disfigured horribly with sickening ripping, cracking sounds and refitted themselves, becoming elongated, animal-like, _fox_-like.

"Oh god _no_," she whispered hoarsely, her voice caught breathlessly in her throat as the animal-figure--the _demon_--rose in the center of the room, pulling away from an unconscious Naruto. It loomed threateningly, glaring down at her with malicious eyes the color of dried blood. A deep, rumbling growl swelled low in its throat. Slowly, it raised a wickedly-clawed paw and swiped at her and she screamed, but in a flash of orange and black, someone was standing over her, their arms crossed over and blood pattering on the floor as the claws twitched in the meat of their forearm.

* * *

"Leave her out of this!" Naruto pushed back against the claw and made the demon stumble on its hind feet. It thudded back down to all fours and roared.

"Naruto!" she cried, both worried and relieved.

"Sakura, go get Tsunande-baachan," he ordered quickly, crouching into a fighting stance. "Tell her that the Kyuubi's gotten into Sasuke somehow."

"_Into_--?" she staggered to her feet and looked upon the horrifying, black-furred demon. "But, Naruto, I don't understand--"

"_Go get her!_" he yelled and the creature sprang forward with a roar. Naruto lunged out of the way, rolled, and got up into a half-crouch. The demon turned, saw the pink-haired woman standing helplessly nearby, and dove for her. The blond tackled it and they slammed into the wall, the picture frames mounted on it shaking violently and crashing to the floor. The nine black tails flailed violently and slammed into Naruto's chest, throwing him to the opposite wall. He crashed through the window and Sakura shrieked, running from the house. Outside, she darted over to Naruto, who was on his hands and knees, hacking up a mouthful of blood.

"Naruto!" she threw herself down beside him and placed her hands on his arm, sending the green healing chakra directly to the center of his body. Instantly, the bones and flesh mended themselves and he gave her a thin smile.

"Thanks," he stood and helped her up.

"Naruto, what's going on?" she asked wearily.

"Sasuke…" he frowned and she blinked.

"You remembered!"

"He made an offer to the Kyuubi--all of my memories in exchange for him."

"Then, Sasuke really is--"

The wall exploded outward, and the black demon fox shook the plaster dust and fragments off itself, snarling softly.

"Go," Naruto pushed her away. "Go get Tsunande and Jiraiya. _Hurry_!"

The demon lunged and Naruto jumped to meet it, slamming into its chest and falling on top of it with a heavy thud. Sakura turned to run for the inner village, but then heard Naruto yelp in pain as elongated claws tore down his arm as the two bodies rolled in the dirt together.

"No!" she changed her mind quickly, rushing back to the squabble and concentrating a great deal of chakra into her right foot. "Get _off him_!" She swung her leg into the tangle of limbs and her foot connected with the muscled stomach of the black demon. It made a thick choking noise and sprawled over, shuddering on the ground from the force of the blow. She helped Naruto to his feet. The blond stared down at the writhing demon, then up at his friend.

"You know, I forgot that you could hit like that…"

She cracked her knuckles and gave him a humorless grin: "We'll get Sasuke back together, Naruto."

He blinked. Then grinned back. "Together," he nodded in agreement.

"We have to move him away from the village as much as possible," Sakura threw a worried glance over her shoulder.

"I know the perfect place," Naruto grimaced, held his bleeding arm wound closed with the opposite hand, and turned toward the trees encircling the Hidden Leaf Valley.

* * *

"Here," Sakura reached over and placed her hands on the bleeding gashes lining the blonde's arm. Her green chakra flared up around the wounds and the skin mended itself.

"Thanks," he breathed, giving her a tired smile.

"Naruto…are you sure it was a good move to leave him back there like that?" she turned her gaze briefly toward the direction they had come.

"Yeah," Naruto stood, brushing the dirt and grass off the seat of his pants and shoving his hands into his pockets, beginning to pace. "That fox definitely wants me dead. He'll make Sasuke come after me." He swallowed back a lump in his throat.

"Sasuke…" Sakura repeated his name, sounding sad. Then she rose as well and crossed her arms, watching him pace. "Do you have a plan, Naruto?"

"Something like that," he cocked his head slightly to one side, thinking. "It's not all intricate and mapped out, but, I think it'll do."

"What do I do?" she asked, and before he could open his mouth, she shut him up with a glare: "And don't say 'nothing', because I'm going to help whether you like it or not."

"Fine," he sighed. "I was thinking of summoning Gamabunta. You know, fight something big with something bigger."

Sakura made a face at him, but then considered the idea herself. "Maybe…Gamabunta could pin him down, and we could…I don't know, try to reach him?"

"My guess is, we have to weaken the Kyuubi's hold on him first," he avoided her eyes.

"…I suppose you mean by attacking him?"

"Yeah."

"Mm," she nodded, looking upset but determined. _So be it. _A heavy roar parted the winds and reverberated through the waterfall valley; the underbrush crashed wildly as something tore rabidly through it. Naruto crouched, Sakura lifted her fists.

"Now!" the blond leapt into the air. Sakura raised a fist above her head, her eyebrows drawn together in concentration as the Sasuke-demon burst onto the riverbank and she slammed her fist down in the dirt, the powerful buildup of chakra making a long, wide rift in the ground. The demon jumped into the air to avoid it.

"_Kage bunshin no jitsu!_" Naruto yelled from above, and thirteen orange and black-clad figures pounced on the unsuspecting creature, lashing at it with punches and kicks. It swung three of its tails outward and seven of the bunshin cried out and disappeared in wisps of smoke. The others landed and the demon landed on all four legs before them, snarling its displeasure. Then, abruptly, its red eyes flickered and the growl faltered. The remaining Narutos dove forward and tackled it into the grasses by the river, pummeling away at it. Sakura gathered more chakra for her next attack and waited, not wanting to jump into the fray and risk hurting the real Naruto. More tails swung out in self-defense. All the Narutos were thrown back, and only the real one stood, wiping a slight trail of blood from his mouth.

"I think it worked."

"What worked?" Sakura asked but kept her eyes on the demon that was righting itself cautiously, almost reluctantly.

"This place…it's where Sasuke and I fought before he left to be with Orochimaru."

She blinked: "I get it! Sasuke's still in there, so, when he saw this place, he remembered what happened!"

"If that worked, then…" Naruto pulled back a hand, and a bright sphere of chakra physically manifested itself into his palm. "Hey, Sasuke! Remember this?"

The blue and white Rasengan spun into larger proportions, evicting a low snarl from the creature. Its nine waving tails suddenly stilled, then swung out toward them both. Nine silvery-white crackles of electrified chakra raced across the ground toward the two of them.

"Shit!" Naruto's concentration faltered and the energy sphere vanished. Moving quickly, Sakura stepped in front of him and slapped the ground before them open-palmed. A split-second later, the ground beneath them rumbled and a jagged crack formed a few feet in front of them. Naruto ran up and grabbed her by the shoulders, turning and ducking at the same time as the nine Chidoris struck the fissure and stopped, exploding in a blinding flash of white. They huddled together as the explosion passed, and then stood quickly, whirling back around to face the demon. Its tails were waving again, and it was somehow contorting its ugly snout into a malicious grin.

"Bastard," Naruto spoke up, both about the Kyuubi and about the man being possessed by said demon. "He never does like being shown up." His hands flew into several complicated-looking seals, then he raised his thumb to his mouth and bit down hard at the pad, hissing at the slight pain, then dropping to one knee and slapping his hand on the ground: "_Kuchiyose ni Jitsu!_" The black and red spiral runes and seals bled out around him rapidly, and from the ground came a deep rumble. Suddenly, Naruto and Sakura were lifted high into the air, leaving their opponent behind.

"What--" Sakura blinked, then lost her balance and fell back onto what was not part of the ground, but the moist, pebbly flesh of a toad. A _huge_ toad. With a red vest and purple-black rosary beads around its neck. And a pipe.

"Thanks for coming, Gamabunta," Naruto patted its head affectionately.

"**Hmph,"** came a loud, gruff voice from directly below them. **"There'd better be a damn good reason for calling me out like this."**

"Naruto…" Sakura lifted one hand to her head, looking dazed, "are we on the head of a toad? And is it _talking_ to us?"

"Yeah," he answered with a grin.

"**And who the hell's this?"**

"Ah, sorry. Gamabunta, this is my good friend Sakura. Sakura, this is Gamabunta, king of the toad summons."

"Um…hi?"

"**Impressive, aren't I?"** came the gloating response.

"Hey, before that starts Gama," Naruto pointed down, "I need your help."

"**You always need my help, you brat."**

Naruto tried to be patient: "Well, you see, there's a problem--"

"**Hence needing help."**

"If you'd just look down…"

The toad's head tilted, and Sakura yelped, holing on. Naruto just sat, used to the abrupt movements by now. The three didn't have to look down for more than a second anyway. Large blue flames roared into the sky and the black-haired Sasuke/Kyuubi roared triumphantly, growing in size to rival the king of toad's. The red eyes could now glare at them again, huge and angry-looking, Naruto's reflection caught in one eye and Sakura's in the other.

"**Oh," **said Gamabunta.

"Yeah," said the blond.

"**Right," **the toad nodded, pulling another surprised yelp from the pink-haired woman as she held on for fear of falling into the suddenly tiny river below. **"Tell her to hang on."**

"Sakura," Naruto turned his head to look at her, "you might want to hold onto me." He rose, planting his feet on the large, flat head, directly between its bulging eyes. Sakura crawled over to him, grabbed his waist and hoisted herself up, clinging for dear life. "Don't look down," he added as an afterthought. "Ready, Gama?"

"**This definitely reminds me of something,"** the red and tan animal didn't answer him directly, but sprung up attentively. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut and held on as Naruto started more complicated-looking hand seals.

"_Gama Yuendan Katon no Jitsu_!" he clasped his hands into the final seal (the dragon) and touched the rough surface of Gamabunta's head between his feet. The giant toad reared up, pulling in a long, huge breath and Naruto did the same, lifting three fingers to his mouth--pointer and middle fingers curling and touching the thumb. They exhaled at the same time, a long stream of fire spilling from Naruto's lips and another from Gama's, joining together and slamming into the fox's chest. It was engulfed from snout to tail-tip in fire and it howled, stumbling backwards. A huge back paw landed in the river and steam rose in thick rolls, the hissing sound resembling that of a huge snakes'. The two continued their attack for as long as humanly possible (for Naruto, anyway), then stopped and the onslaught of flames ceased. The demon stumbled, roaring its displeasure. Naruto gasped for air and looked up in time to see that with a swish of a few of its tails, the fire feasting on its fur dispelled.

"**Well shit," **Gamabunta huffed. **"This is one tough fox."**

"Didn't you fight the Kyuubi before, Gama?" Naruto called down. "With the Yondaime! What did you two do?"

It was the demon's turn; before the toad could answer him, it lashed out with every one of its tails, creating an enormous typhoon of air and water that descended on them in a heartbeat and all three screamed in surprise. Gamabunta's weight kept him on the ground, but Naruto had to drop to his knees and cling to the summon's back tightly. Sakura's grip was slipping.

"Naruto!" she wailed, and he tried to hold onto her but nearly flew off himself. Her hands unclasped from around his stomach and slid from his hips, and his friend was wrenched away, screaming.

"SAKURA!" he yelled. "Gama! Help her!"

The huge toad crouched and sprung away from the attack, hopping across the Valley of the End to the rock ledge that the waterfall poured down from. Naruto ran down his back, leapt up onto the wall, scampered up, and hooked an arm out, and Sakura landed hard against him. His arm pulled badly and he winced, but held her close and jumped back down, landing on Gama's back.

"**Nice catch," **he commented, sinking low to the water's surface as the large black demon circled toward them, shoulders and hips rising and falling in sway with its movements.

"We're…trapped," Sakura panted, putting a hand to her head and looking extremely dizzy.

"**That we are."**

"Any ideas?" Naruto frowned.

"**Not a one."**

Sakura suddenly reached up and touched his arm. His pulled--and probably dislocated--shoulder healed itself. He blinked back at her.

"How did you know…?"

"Even if you try and hide your pain," she smiled tiredly at him, "you and I--and Sasuke too--we're connected. I just know it."

"Connected…"

* * *

'_**That's okay,' he smiled. 'As long as you remember what we've been through. The good as well as the bad. All of our memories, the ones we share, bind us together forever. And no matter where we go or whatever happens to either of us, that will keep us connected…'

* * *

**_

He stood. Sakura looked up at him. "Naruto…?" she asked uncertainly.

"I'm going to make that bastard wake up if it's the last thing I do," he swore softly. Then he broke into a run, pumping his arms and gaining momentum as he raced up the toad's vest-covered back and bounded onto its head, running still. "Take care of her, Gama!"

"**Oi, kid--!"** Gamabunta started and Sakura screamed after him.

"_Naruto! Don't do anything stupid_!"

He ignored her: "_SASUKE!_" he leapt off the huge toad's head and created a bunshin beneath him that slapped its palms to his feet and pushed him higher into the air. That one dispelled and another one appeared again at his feet, throwing him up even higher. Gama, Sakura, and even the demon watched him rise into the sphere of setting sun and they were momentarily blinded. Then, he fell--he _dove_--toward the fox creature, one hand drawn back in a huge, brightly-swirling Rasengan sphere. Sasuke/Kyuubi roared and lifted all nine tails again, the silvery-white Chidori forming at each tip and then congealing into one sold mass of blinding chakra. Wordlessly, Naruto screamed and threw his hand down toward the black demon. It let out a deafening, ear-piercing, shrieking roar and flung the Chidori upward, toward the blond.

"**Holy hell, that's gonna _explode!_" **Gamabunta turned and bounded away from the cliff, leaving Naruto and the demon alone in front of the waterfall, the blond on the right and the creature on the left, the Rasengan and Chidori swirling together, glowing brighter and brighter, spiraling into a vortex between the two figures.

"_NARUTO!_ _SASUKE!_" Sakura lifted her head and screamed to the dying sky. The chakra exploded, and everything went white.


	37. Chapter 37, part 11

He was walking. His arms swung casually at his sides, and the material of his jacket and pants rasped softly as they rubbed together, keeping the beat of his pace. Distantly, he heard a second pair of footsteps scuffing the ground (although, there wasn't really any ground; everything around him was empty and white), coming closer. He paused, waiting with his hands in his pockets. The other man stepped into view out of the white shroud no more than a few seconds later.

"You…" he blinked in surprise.

"I told you I wasn't leaving without you," the blond said simply, daring the other man to challenge him with his eyes. "That was a stupid thing to do."

"How else was I supposed to help you?" the raven-haired man frowned, crossing his arms loosely over his chest. "That damn fox wasn't about to just _give_ you your memory back."

The other man huffed: "It was still damn unfair of you."

"Oh, come on, Naruto," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "What did you want to do? Personally, I don't think I could have dealt with you forgetting how you really felt about me."

"And you call _me_ the idiot?" Naruto scoffed, pulling his hands from his pockets and striding forward, reaching for the dark-haired ninja. "Look, I don't need memories of what I _feel_; I feel because I have _memories_. Do you understand?" His arms came down and they clasped hands tightly. "The memory of what I said didn't matter--I still _felt_ that way. I _remembered_ all the things we've been through together, which is what caused my feelings in the first place."

"So, basically, this was all for nothing?" Sasuke let out a dejected laugh. "Great."

"No, not for nothing," the blond shook his head, squeezing his friend's hands tighter. "Because of what you did, I finally know how you feel. You said you loved me too, right Sasuke?"

The taller man blushed. It was actually kind of endearing. "Yeah," he mumbled, looking down at their joined hands. "I do."

* * *

The white light slowly diminished. Sakura lowered her arm from across her eyes and stared toward the waterfall, her eyes still slightly blurry from her tears. _Please god,_ she thought, _please let them both be okay. If either of them died, I don't know what I'd--_

"**Holy shit,"** She was startled out of her thoughts by Gamabunta's heavy voice. **"He did it…"**

Her chest tightened with excitement, her heart leaping into her mouth. She crawled up onto Gama's head from his back and stared down at where the two had collided: Naruto was slightly elevated, his eyes closed and his forehead pressed to Sasuke's, who was levitating far above the water, captive in a massive spread of blue fire that still held the shape of the Kyuubi Kitsune, but not the appearance. Their hands were joined.

"Can we go over there?" she laid a shaking hand on the large, flat head beneath her. It nodded wordlessly and hopped gently across the riverbank toward the two figures.

* * *

"How do we get things back to normal?" Sasuke's brow wrinkled in slight concern. 

"We have to get the Kyuubi back into my cage," Naruto tapped the side of his head with one finger. "But…how?"

"_Dobe_," the dark-haired man said automatically as he slipped into deep thought.

"I'm _not_!" the blond shot back, but then settled back and contemplated this as well. He jumped when cold fingers were slipping across his belly softly. "Hey! Hey, don't you think you're moving too fast?"

Sasuke gave him an impatient look: "I'm checking your seal, you moron."

"Oh," Naruto gave into a half-embarrassed, half-pleased blush. So what if Sasuke was just looking for the damn seal? It still felt nice.

"Ah--" Sasuke poked at him and Naruto squirmed slightly.

"Don't do that!" he demanded.

"Come back here," Sasuke grunted and wrapped an arm round Naruto's back, drawing him closer, pressing him tightly to the other man's side. His blush came back full-on as Sasuke's hand ran over the symbol on his lower belly, making the dark red markings appear on the lightly-tanned flesh. He placed his thumb on the lowermost kanji of the seal (which was, of course, below the waistband of his pants), his pinky on the rightmost symbol, his pointer on the leftmost, and his ring and middle fingers placed on two other symbols, separated by the topmost one. His palm lay flat against Naruto's skin and he closed his eyes, concentrating.

"What are you--" he tried.

"I'm opening a pathway between the Kyuubi and the seal," Sasuke explained. "You need to create one from the seal to its cage. Can you do that?"

"Sure," Naruto closed his eyes. "It's just like focusing chakra, right?"

"Just be prepared for it," his companion grunted, and they both fell into silence. The flesh of his stomach began to crawl strangely as Sasuke's pathway licked out from his palm and into the seal, searching for a link. Naruto concentrated his own yellow-tinged chakra on Sasuke's blue one, linking the beginning of his and the end of Sasuke's pathways together, then leading it back upward, through his body, to his head, envisioning the fire-lit chamber, the water-covered floor, and the iron-wrought gate hanging ajar. As soon as the pathway ended, Sasuke grunted with physical effort as he tried to force the Kyuubi out of his body. There was fierce resistance from the demon, and seamlessly, both men instantly modified their chakra pathways into a long whirlpool that tugged at the Kyuubi relentlessly. It howled, the sound echoing hauntingly in both their ears, cursing them, damning them, threatening them. Naruto clasped one hand over Sasuke's rigid one and concentrated harder.

* * *

Gamabunta rocked to a stop and Sakura almost tumbled off his head. The two of them watched as the blue fire flickered and slowly began to bleed red again. It shifted, becoming a huge sphere of hungry red flames that encircled both men in its whirling depths and nearly blocked them from sight all together. The distant echo of a roar rang in their ears, in their _heads_ and then the fire shifted again, all red, holding Naruto at its forefront as it regained the fox-like shape from before. Another far-off howl pierced the evening sky and then in a sweeping rush, all the flames were gone. Naruto's body glowed red for a few more seconds, then that disappeared too. They stayed suspended together for a moment, then both of them began to fall through the air. Sakura gasped and Gamabunta lunged forward, and both Naruto and Sasuke landed on his broad back with gentle thumps. They were asleep, and their hands had stayed clasped even as they fell. 

"Nice catch," she said weakly.

"**Thanks,"** he hopped toward the bank where the river and the forest met one another. **"But, if it's all the same to you, I'm just a tad bit exhausted, so, I'm going to leave you guys here."**

"Thank you for saving us," Sakura leaned over and planted a soft kiss on the pebbled skin, "and thank you for all your help."

"**Aw, shucks, you're making me blush,"** the toad croaked, swelling up with pride. He lowered his head to the ground and the pink-haired woman jumped off, turned, and lifted her hands, her green chakra forming visibly around her fingertips. The same aura formed around Sasuke and Naruto's bodies and they were drifted gently onto the ground as she lowered her hands down. Then she knelt between them and placed one hand on both their heads, the green chakra turning to healing chakra and swirling about their bodies rapidly. **"I'll be going now. I see their in good hands anyway," **Gama added as an afterthought.

Sakura smiled: "Thank you again."

The toad king nodded and disappeared in a huge poof of smoke. At the same time, several pairs of feet stumbled through the forest and five figures burst out from between the trees, but Sakura could no longer see. Her vision blurred, tilted crazily, and she collapsed to the dirt between her two best friends, her hands still lying lovingly against their arms. Their clasped hands remained connected beneath her body, as their palms turned up, Sasuke's hand cupping Naruto's, and Naruto's hand gripping at the small of Sakura's back. White vests, masks, and voices, and finally, nothing at all.

* * *

"I'm just glad they're all safe," Tsunande sighed wearily, closing the door behind her. She turned her head to look at one of the ninjas sitting anxiously in the waiting room. "Thanks to you, again." 

"Nn," Shikamaru waved off the praise. "I wasn't fast enough--we really didn't help any."

"Don't blame yourself," Chouji said automatically, giving his friend's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "It's a new ability; it'll take time to develop properly, right?"

"Still…" he grimaced. "I wish we could have helped."

"You?" Shino raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were too lazy to do anything."

"Hell, we _all_ wished we could have been there to help," Kiba admitted gruffly, gnawing on his bottom lip, one fang protruding out over it. "But they did pretty well by themselves."

"It's to be expected," Neji said, uncrossing his arms and standing straight. "The three of them were together."

"You did say something like that, didn't you, Neji?" Hinata beamed up at him affectionately.

"I still can't believe all this happened just over Naruto's memories," Lee shook his head. "Who knew the Kyuubi had that much control over him?"

The others shook their collective heads. Finally, though, Ino spoke up with a thoughtful glance toward the intensive care ward: "Maybe…Sasuke knew all along. Maybe that's why it happened the way it did; maybe he knew exactly what Naruto was going through, and tried to stop it all together."

"He always bites off more than he can chew, the bastard," Kiba made a face, but he nodded his head in acknowledgement. The others settled into an accepting, patient silence. They would get their answers as soon as their three friends awoke, but that reason did sound pretty plausible already.

* * *

His eyelids were heavy. They opened to reveal a familiar white ceiling, and he groaned, clapping a hand over his eyes. 

"Feeling better?" a voice from beside him asked, and he turned his head to see his best friend sitting up in the hospital bed next to him, and after that, Sakura slept peacefully, all the worry from the past couple of weeks finally gone from her pretty face.

"Yeah," he got up, winced at his croaking voice, and grinned softly. "Hey."

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

"Heh," the other man smiled back, reaching across the gap between the beds. He reached back--their hands clasped together. "I love you too."

"So, now what?"

"What do you mean, 'now what'?"

"I'm ready to take this a step farther, aren't you?"

A slight blush rose on the other man's cheeks. "Mm…" he nodded.

"Good," the grin came back in full. "After everything that's happened, I _deserve _to get what I want, finally."

The blush stayed. "What exactly is it you want?"

A devilish grin was his only reply. From beside them, Sakura rolled over to glare at the two men, her lips struggling not to curve up into a smile.

"Hey, lovebirds," she called, her voice half-filled with sleep, "I don't need to hear the details, alright?"

"Hey, Sakura?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

She smiled. "You're welcome. And thank you both."

"What for?" one blinked in confusion.

"For letting me go along this time," she sat up.

"Together," Sasuke nodded. "We're a team."

"We're connected," Naruto smiled and held out his other hand. Sakura took it and squeezed gently.

"We're connected," she agreed. And they smiled at one another.

* * *

**Notes: **Thank you, all of you, for coming along all these chapters with me as I explored charactes and ideas and answered some requests (sorry I didn't get to everyone's request! I'll try so much harder next time!). I'm so thankful for all your inspiring and helpful comments, your encouragement to keep this going, even through good and bad times. This story was an outlet, and cheered me up endlessly each time I looked back on it. If I ever _do _draw it, I'll post the link somewhere everyone can find it! For now though, that's the end of _Welcome Home._ If you feel jipped or disappointed about the ending, I'm truly sorry. I tried my hardest for a happy ending, and I was happy with it anyway. Thank you again, and take care. -Kitty 


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